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DRC: Katumbi is Tshisekedi’s nightmare
Moïse Katumbi (left) has become nightmare of President Félix Tshisekedi (right).
Ever
since the presidential campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
kicked off, on November 19, President Félix Tshisekedi who wants a second term
has never made remarks without attacking his main rival, Moïse Katumbi.
Katumbi,
58, has become Tshisekedi’s nightmare.
The former
governor of DRC's richest province, Katanga, from 2007 to 2015, was once an
ally of Tshisekedi in the Union Sacrée de
la Nation coalition. The pair fell out in late 2022. Since then, he has
been one of the President’s biggest critics.
Katumbi
who boldly addresses the problems facing DRC, Tshisekedi’s failure to address
them, is the main contestant whom Tshisekedi fears in the presidential race.
While
launching his campaign at a rally in Kisangani on November 20, Katumbi criticized
Tshisekedi’s record in the DRC's volatile east, where the army has been
battling the M23 rebels, saying that the president was recruiting foreign
mercenaries instead of increasing the capability of military and police.
“I'm
telling you that we are going to improve the conditions of our soldiers who
must defend our country, and we're going to drive out all these forces that are
in our country,” Katumbi said.
The
security crisis in eastern DRC has been the opposition’s common angle of attack
to expose the main failures of Tshisekedi’s first five-year term.
“The
one who has the highest authority over this country must simply bring us peace
in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where our Congolese compatriots
are suffering bitterly,” Katumbi said.
For
Tshisekedi, security is not a priority on his list of campaign promises. He
failed to halt the violence in his country during his first term and there is
no way he can convince Congolese voters that he will do better, if elected
again.
All that
Tshisekedi invested in was to incite hate among Congolese people against
Katumbi, who promises to correct the President’s failures.
“Countries
with hostile intentions have their pawns that they actively support. These
candidates will come assure you that they will start talks with the M23. For my
part, I do not condone this approach. This type of dialogue unfortunately
encourages the infiltration of our armed forces and allows the entry of enemies
into our territory,” Tshisekedi said while campaigning in Kindu, Maniema
Province, on November 19.
Tshisekedi
and his allies forged a narrative that Rwanda, which they call an “aggressor”, has
sent a presidential candidate to infiltrate DRC. Here, they mean Katumbi.
“Our
aggressor, Rwanda, has placed a presidential candidate to better plunder the
country,” said the Minister of Defence, Jean-Pierre Bemba, Tshisekedi’s envoy
for his campaign in Moanda, Kongo-Central Province.
Tshisekedi
and his allies are trying to portray Katumbi as an enemy of the country.
Noël
Tshiani, author of a new draft law on nationality, said the millionaire
businessman and former governor of the copper-rich Katanga region is of Italian
nationality, and tried to have his candidacy rejected by the Constitutional
Court but the judges dismissed his quest.
So far, Seth Kikuni, Franck Diongo and former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo have officially withdrawn their candidatures to back Katumbi.
