DRC: Does France prefer Dr Mukwege to Tshisekedi?

Dr Denis Mukwege (left) and François Hollande (right) in Bukavu

As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) heads to the 2023 general election, France has identified Dr Denis Mukwege as successor to President Félix Tshisekedi.

Former French President, François Hollande, paid a second controversial visit to DRC in September 2022. His previous trip was in 2012 when, as president, he was attending the Francophonie Summit held in Kinshasa.

In his second trip, sources revealed, Tshisekedi did not want Hollande to meet Mukwege. A visa was only obtained after pressure was mounted on Kinshasa.  During the second tour, Hollande and his wife, Julie Gayet, accompanied by Mukwege, attended the inauguration of the new wing in Mukwege’s hospital in Bukavu town, in eastern DRC. There, Hollande praised Mukwege for his work in the restive eastern region of the country.

The Frenchman also used the opportunity to comment on the insecurity in eastern DRC. He said: “I think we have to tell all those around the DRC who let the armed groups pass, to stop.”

The region’s insecurity is caused by more than 130 local and foreign armed groups, including FDLR and ADF, of Rwandan and Ugandan origin, respectively. There is also the M23 rebellion which has occupied the town of Bunagana for months. While Congolese citizens demonstrated against the UN mission in the country, the former French President believes that the absence of MONUSCO would give ground to the attackers to continue atrocities with impunity.

In July, Mukwege said that Tshisekedi's diplomacy is contributing to the worsening instability. "The regional diplomacy of the president of the DRC is objectively leading us towards a prolongation and aggravation of the instability in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri,” he said.

In Tshisekedi’s camp, Mukwege’s relationship with the former French President is frowned upon. There were no meetings with any other Congolese politicians from the government during Hollande's visit. Openly discussing national issues with Mukwege in the absence of Congolese leaders indicated who is France’s favorite come December 2023.

Mukwege has, for long, been France’s dotted Congolese. He is an honorary citizen of Melun commune, in north-central France, since 2016.

He signed a cooperation agreement between his hospital and the Melun-Sénart hospital for medication and training of staff as well as transfer of equipment. On September 13, Mukwege inaugurated a school that bears his name in Melun, “Groupe Scolaire Denis Mukwege.”

Louis Vogel, the Mayor of Melun – who is close to President Emmanuel Macron after campaigning hard for his re-election in 2022 – noted that Mukwege condemned the barbarism in eastern DRC, and promised to help the doctor ‘go faster’.

Political commentators suggest that through Hollande, France is lobbying for Mukwege to win the presidency.

Hollande’s visit to DRC in 2012 was condemned by the Congolese government. But he confirmed his participation anyway, saying he wanted to break away from the traditional paternalistic ways of France toward Africa. In Kinshasa, Hollande met with Kabila and the then opposition leader, the late Etienne Tshisekedi, the father of Félix Tshisekedi. Hollande said the situation in DRC was absolutely unacceptable in terms of human rights, democracy and the respect of the opposition. His words provoked Kinshasa’s outrage.

The then spokesperson for the Congolese government, Lambert Mende, said that it was for the Congolese people to accept or reject the situation in their own country and not for France to give lessons.

Ten years later, Dr Mukwege is using his long-curated fame as the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner to pursue his minders’ political interests.

But he would have served the Congolese population much better if he continued his work at the Panzi hospital project and not dabbled in politics to serve his Western minders’ selfish interests.