Tshisekedi’s plot to assassinate Kabila likely to split Congolese army, government

Author: Matiya Mulumba

• 2024-08-16 05:30:00

Sources from Kinshasa have revealed that Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi hatched a plot to assassinate his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, accusing him of being the mastermind of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) political-military coalition led by former electoral commission head Corneille Nangaa.

On July 31, Kabila’s home was attacked by violent youths who tore down flags around the former president’s house. According to local sources, some of the youths appeared to be linked to the Forces of Progress, a militia claiming to be close to the ruling party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) of Tshisekedi.

“They were supposedly sent to physically eliminate me,” Kabila’s wife Olive Lembe told the media. “They came in large numbers and started throwing [molotov] cocktails to burn all the vehicles outside the property, intending to break through the gate and enter the residence.”

“All this is a consequence of the violation of the security perimeter of the honorary president’s residence,” she continued.

The former first lady also told media that officials from the Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing under instructions from Tshisekedi reopened the avenues around Kabila’s home, in September 2023, which had been closed to the public during his time in power.

“We will resist,” Olive said. Kabila, as a former head of state, is entitled to protection from intruders. He is entitled to state security especially around his home and the act of reopening the roads around his house which were deemed as a threat to Kabila’s family in the past, is an indication that Tshisekedi’s plan is to make Kabila’s family vulnerable to state sanctioned militias.

On the day of the attack, gunfire was heard in the vicinity which is believed to have been stage managed by government security agencies, so as to later blame it on “unknown gunmen” who wanted to attack strategic buildings such as the Palais de la Nation, the official office of President Tshisekedi, and the residence of Kabila. “I will alert the authorities to the danger posed by this UDPS militia, which operates in place of the State.

“It is a threat that risks escalating,” Kabila’s wife told the media. Unfortunately, the former first lady alerts the very people who are plotting to assassinate her husband and terrorise the whole family.

On August 6, speaking from Brussels, Tshisekedi, for the first time, came up with treasonable charges against Kabila accusing him of being the mastermind and mentor of the AFC rebellion.

The accusation came after a military court-martial passed a death sentence against the AFC leader and other members of the rebellion.  The accusations indicate that if Nangaa was sentenced to death, Kabila should be handed a harsher punishment.

Kabila’s allies under the political parties; the Common Front for Congo (FCC), the PPRD and other people identifying with Kabila's political family rejected the accusations citing a witch hunt by Tshisekedi against his predecessor.

Kabila’s spokesperson Barbara Nzimbi, responded by saying that, "President Tshisekedi spends his entire term accusing, without proof, Joseph Kabila. He would do better to focus on improving the living conditions of the Congolese people." Nzimbi called Kabila the father of democracy.

Although it is publicly known that Kabila is the one who installed Tshisekedi hoping that he would be safer under his rule than Martin Fayulu whose votes were stolen, their relationship turned sour.

Kabila left the country before the presidential elections last December, amid forecasts of chaotic elections and fear for his life.

Kabila’s family was attacked based on false intelligence that he had sneaked into the country and was at his home in Kinshasa. Kabila still has considerable political support among politicians and military officers. The witch-hunt against Kabila is likely to weaken Tshisekedi’s government by triggering a fall out with politicians and causing military officers to join the rebellion.