The political crisis and the violent demonstrations which shake the streets of the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have just taken a new turn. Justice Minister Célestin Tunda Ya Kasende was briefly arrested on Saturday. He was finally released after being heard for a few hours at the General Prosecutor's Office.
New hitch in the ruling coalition
“No charges were made. The prosecutor himself noted that the file was empty. It was an unnecessary annoyance, "said political support for the minister, François Nzekuye, information confirmed by judicial sources. His arrest marks a new hitch in the ruling coalition in the DRC.
It must be said that the composition of the government suggested the current crisis from the start. The coalition brings together the political forces of President Félix Tshisekedi, winner of the presidential election of December 30, 2018, and those of his predecessor Joseph Kabila, still in the majority in Parliament. The arrested Minister of Justice is a member of the Common Front for the Congo (FCC, pro-Kabila), like the Prime Minister and the majority of the 66 ministers.
The last incident to date took place Friday in the Council of Ministers, when the Keeper of the Seals angered the president, about three bills concerning the status of magistrates. Carried by two FCC deputies, these texts point to the UDPS, the party of the head of state. The latter was furious to learn that his Minister of Justice had transmitted the government's observations on these laws to Parliament, without consulting either the president or the executive. To show his disapproval, he even slammed the door of the Council, indicates a ministerial source. However, the presidency downplays this version of the facts, indicating that he should simply participate in a videoconference with other African heads of state.
Kabila's supporters castigate "the birth of dictatorship"
The minister's arrest galvanized supporters of Kabila on Saturday, who came before the prosecution in support of their colleague. "What we have experienced today is the birth of the dictatorship," said the former dolphin of Joseph Kabila in the presidential election, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary. During the arrest, Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga was even reported to have threatened to resign and end the coalition.
The arrest of the Minister of Justice thus completes a week of tensions. Tuesday and Wednesday, supporters of Félix Tshisekedi demonstrated against the three bills around the Parliament. Protesters went so far as to attack residences of relatives of Kabila.
Saturday, the very influential Episcopal Conference (Cenco) also returned to the debate: "It is clear that if we take care, the bills under consideration in the National Assembly will undermine judicial independence". Above all, these tensions come a week after the unprecedented conviction of a central figure in political life, Vital Kamerhe, to 20 years' imprisonment for corruption. The court had followed the prosecution's requisitions against the former President of the Assembly, director of cabinet and ally of President Tshisekedi.
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