Regional
Macron trusts Mukwege, not Tshisekedi on DRC matters
On
the sideline of his recent tour in Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron,
held a discreet meeting with Congolese gynecologist Dr Denis Mukwege, who is
now a potential candidate in the December 2023 presidential polls.
The
duo met for one hour at the residence of the French Ambassador in Kinshasa, on
Saturday March 4, before Macron headed to the Presidential Palace for his
official meeting with his Congolese counterpart, Félix Tshisekedi.
Speaking
to Dr Mukwege, who uses his long-curated fame as the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize
winner to pursue
political interests, Macron wanted to have the “most precise and authentic
feeling of the humanitarian situation on the spot" as his entourage clarified.
Macron’s
adviser announced that he also wanted to put into practice his will to “support
what is done best in Africa”.
Paris
believes more in Mukwege than Tshisekedi when it comes to Kinshasa’s political
life.
But Macron was never frank enough to highlight
it.
France
took care to ensure the meeting with Mukwege got public only after Macron’s
departure from Kinshasa, so as not to anger Tshisekedi.
"It
would have created a stir among the authorities," a French diplomat
explained.
The
French president is betting on Mukwege as a great figure in Tshisekedi’s
opposition, who could become a strong ally of France. The European country is
often referred to as a king maker in Africa because of its strong political
influence in some countries on the continent.
Evidences
of Paris
preferring Mukwege to Tshisekedi is nothing new. Former French President,
François Hollande, in September 2022 paid a visit to eastern DRC where he met
Mukwege and discussed the insecurity in the region.
There
were no meetings with any other Congolese politicians from the government
during Hollande's visit. Sources said that Tshisekedi did not want Hollande to
meet Mukwege. A visa was only obtained after pressure was mounted on Kinshasa.
Political
commentators believe that openly discussing national issues with Mukwege in the
absence of Congolese leaders, indicates that he is France’s favorite in DRC’s upcoming
polls.
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, 2022, Mukwege inaugurated a school that bears his name in
Melun, “Groupe Scolaire Denis Mukwege.”
Back
in 2019, Macron announced that France was the first country to finance the
initiative to ‘repair women’ victims of sexual violence by Mukwege and Nadia Murad
Base, co-Nobel Peace Prize winner, with 6 million euros.
Paris
may even have influenced the way Mukwege got the Nobel Prize, in order to make
the world pay attention to him.
In
October 2022, following the three Nobel Prize winners being all members of the
Paris-based human rights organization, International Federation for Human
Rights (FIDH), Macron tweeted: “Crafters of peace, they know they can count on
France’s support.”
This
revealed that France has some influence in determining whom to give the prize
basing on its favorites, Mukwege included.
France
is leaving no stone unturned to make Mukwege Tshisekedi’s successor.