Nine months before the next presidential election, a reshuffle of the government was announced, on the night of Thursday 23 to Friday 24 March, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, maintaining in office the Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, but redrawing the ministerial team.

Among the new heavyweights of the government is, in Defense, the former vice-president (2003-2006) Jean-Pierre Bemba. Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in the Central African Republic before being acquitted on appeal in 2018, after ten years in prison.

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Cabinet reshuffle in DRC: former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba appointed to Defence © FRANCE 24

Voltage peak

He was appointed deputy prime minister and defense minister, as Congo, which has been embroiled in armed violence for nearly 30 years in its eastern part, is experiencing a spike in tension with neighboring Rwanda, accused of supporting the M23 rebellion, which has occupied large swathes of North Kivu province since last year.

Another return to grace, Vital Kamerhe, former chief of staff of President Felix Tshisekedi, sentenced in 2020 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement before being acquitted on appeal in 2022, is appointed to the Economy, also at the rank of Deputy Prime Minister.

A reshuffle had been presented as imminent for three months, after the resignation, at the end of December, of three ministers members of the party of businessman Moïse Katumbi, candidate for the next presidential election, who had left the government in solidarity with their political movement breaking with the ruling coalition.

Candidacy

The presidency warned early Thursday evening of an "important communication" to come, before a spokeswoman for Felix Tshisekedi appeared on national television after midnight to read the composition of the new government.

The next presidential election is scheduled for December 20. Felix Tshisekedi, in power since January 2019, has announced for months that he will be a candidate for re-election.

Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde has been Prime Minister since February 2021. President Tshisekedi had appointed him to consolidate his majority after ending the coalition he formed at the top of the state with his predecessor Joseph Kabila.

With AFP

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