Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leader and presidential hopeful Moise Katumbi has been charged with hiring foreign mercenaries in a plot to overthrow President Joseph Kabila’s government.
A government spokesperson yesterday afternoon announced the charges against Katumbi, meaning Katumbi –a millionaire former governor of mineral-rich Katanga Province– is set to either be imprisoned or put under house arrest with the presidential election just a few months off –scheduled for November.
However, Mr. Katumbi personally described the charges as ‘grotesque lies’, while many observers have also castigated the charges as an attempt by President Kabila and his cronies to cunningly eject Katumbi from the November presidential race. Mr. Katumbi has already won the support of most of the opposition parties in DRC.
Meanwhile President Joseph Kabila, who is nearing the end of his second term and is constitutionally obliged to step down by December, has the world guessing whether he will respect the constitution and step down.
Some reckon he will try to remove term limits, while others expect him to delay elections so he can exploit the constitutional loophole allowing a sitting president to indefinitely hold office if polls weren’t held.