Regional
DRC: Tshisekedi entrusting his protection to Génocidaires
The former President of the National Electoral
Commission (CENI) of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Corneille Nangaa,
recently took a bold step when denouncing President Félix Tshisekedi's
coalition with the Rwandan genocidal forces - the FDLR.
The perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the
Tutsi in Rwanda formed the FDLR. In 1999, the group was blacklisted as
terrorists by the US.
Nangaa who declared Tshisekedi as the winner of the
2018 presidential elections, claims that the former has integrated FDLR members
into his elite protection unit and stationed them in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.
As a former close ally of Tshisekedi, Nangaa is now
President and founding member of the political party l’Action pour la dignité
du Congo et de son peuple (ADCP), and his criticism against Tshisekedi is only
mounting, as he has revealed his intentions to run as a candidate in the December
presidential elections.
The strained relationship between Nangaa and the
government dates back to the establishment of his political party. A month
after its creation, the national police abruptly withdrew the security detail
assigned to him without any explanation. Citing the suspicious deaths of
Generals Delphin Kahimbi and Timothée Munkuto, Nangaa expressed the need for
caution in such circumstances.
Nangaa's criticism does not end there. Nangaa accuses
the authorities of integrating FDLR fighters into the presidential guards, a
move that he believes compromises national security.
Related: FDLR still winning big favours from Tshisekedi
The United Nations, the United States, and Human
Rights Watch (HRW) have amassed credible evidence that the Congolese army
collaborated with armed groups, including FDLR, during clashes with rebels in
the eastern part of the country. HRW reported that the Armed Forces of the
Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) joined forces with a coalition of
Congolese militia and FDLR to combat the M23 rebels in North Kivu province
between May and August 2022.
Related: DRC army supplying arms to FDLR: HRW Report
While Tshisekedi and his associates persist in blaming
Rwanda for the internal political crisis, there are politicians like Nangaa who
see through the rhetoric and are beginning to lose faith in Tshisekedi's
leadership, and have decided to take matters in their own hands.
In a climate of political tension, conflicting
narratives, and concerns over national security, the DRC stands at a
crossroads.
The choices made by its leaders of promoting hate
speech and associating with negative armed groups will make this country more
insecure.
That is the intention of the leaders so as to postpone
the presidential elections. Tshisekedi knows that he is not liked by the
population and cannot win the poll.