Two years.
This is the time it took Felix Tshisekedi to remove his predecessor Joseph Kabila from power.
Yet the task seemed almost impossible.
When he acceded to the supreme office in January 2019, thanks to an electoral agreement concluded with his rival, Félix Tshisekedi had little room for maneuver: Joseph Kabila's Common Front for Congo (FCC) controlled two-thirds seats in Parliament, and the new president is forced to form a coalition government, in which his own camp is in the minority.
Not to mention that before giving up his place, his predecessor, in business since 2001, locked the main institutions of the country: electoral commission, Constitutional Court, army and intelligence services.
Two years later, the Joseph Kabila page is about to be turned.
After having dismissed the office of the National Assembly in December, the FCC deputies overwhelmingly joined the Sacred Union, the new political group of Félix Tshisekedi, which now brings together 391 of the 500 members of the lower house.
These same deputies voted, on January 27, a motion of censure to overthrow the pro-Kabila Prime Minister and his government.
Everything happened so fast.
But behind the scenes, the two camps have been clashing for a long time: "There was never really any trust, explains Trésor Kibangula, analyst at the Congo Study Group. Each has always sought to see how he could weaken the country. 'other."
For a year and a half, the coalition lives to the rhythm of quarrels and cheap shots.
The Tshisekedi camp forbids certain relatives of Kabila, including his twin sister, Jaynet, from traveling.
For its part, the FCC is trying to push through contested judicial reforms and impose its candidate at the head of the Electoral Commission.
The point of no return is reached when Félix Tshisekedi appoints three new judges to the Constitutional Court in July, taking advantage of the absence of the Prime Minister.
Camp Kabila is crying foul and refusing to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
Annoyed, Félix Tshisekedi launched political consultations in October, then announced, in early December, the end of the coalition.
The sling of the Kabila camp deputies
Before this rupture, the presidential camp prepared the ground.
Because to get rid of his ally, Felix Tshisekedi must find new support.
Meetings are organized from summer.
The president's men of confidence try to convince the deputies to join the head of state: "We have targeted the disappointed with the FCC", confides an executive of the presidential camp.
In the Kabila camp, anger has been roaring for several months, some no longer feel at home: "The FCC was in the hands of caciques who did not want to see new faces emerge," says MP Patrick Munyomo, who has since joined the Sacred Union.
One figure, in particular, crystallizes anger: that of the President of the National Assembly, Jeannine Mabunda.
The sling of the Kabila camp deputies could have been limited to the dismissal of the latter's office on December 10, 2020. It was at this time that the FCC set up a "crisis committee" to try to hold back its troops .
But it is already too late: a few days earlier, Felix Tshisekedi brandished the threat of a dissolution of the lower house, if he does not obtain a new majority.
This announcement creates a wave of panic, many fear losing their place: "Psychologically, it played", recognizes the deputy Nsingi Pululu, while assuring that "membership in the Sacred Union has above all to do with the vision of head of state."
After the stick, the presidential camp uses the carrot.
Jean-Marc Kabund, the interim president of the UDPS, the presidential party, publicly promises to "look after the interests of those who come from the FCC".
"Many left out of opportunism, people wanted jobs," notes Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, member of the FCC crisis committee.
Nsingi Pululu tempers: "I did not apply for a job, but I hope to have one."
Charges of corruption
In this great political transfer window, suspicions of corruption emerge: each camp accuses the other of "buying" elected officials with thousands of dollars and 4x4 cars.
"It's a reality, but I refused," slips a defector from the FCC.
"We're trying to smear the Sacred Union!"
another indignantly.
An executive of the presidential camp concedes: "I am not saying that there was not a single note which circulated, but we did not give money to buy consciences."
Faced with the breakdown of his political family, Joseph Kabila remained silent, as usual, seeming almost indifferent to the defeat of his own camp.
Since the dismissal of Jeannine Mabunda, he has been entrenched in his farm in Kashamata, in the province of Katanga, far from the political turmoil of Kinshasa.
During his meetings with Felix Tshisekedi, he had however warned that the National Assembly was a red line not to be crossed.
"He quickly understood that he did not have the means to react so far," explains Trésor Kibangula of the GEC.
Especially since all is not lost for the former president.
With his family, he is at the head of a network of more than 80 companies, present in almost all sectors of the economy.
The largest mining company in the country, Gécamines, the main contributor to the state budget, is also headed by one of its loyal lieutenants, Albert Yuma, who has also been the president of the Fédération des entreprises du Congo (FEC) since 2004. .
In the army and intelligence, Joseph Kabila also retains a large number of relays: "the process of 'destabilizing' the DRC will take time, analysis Trésor Kibangula. Félix Tshisekedi begins to have support within the security forces, but it is still very little compared to its predecessor. "
With just over a hundred deputies who remained loyal to the former president, the FCC also became the main opposition force.
To the point of considering, perhaps, a return to business: "Joseph Kabila has not stopped politics, assures Alain Atundu, spokesman for the political movement. We are now starting to put in place a battle plan. "
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