General elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are scheduled for December 2023 with the incumbent President Félix Tshisekedi expected to run for another term.

With his thirst for power, Tshisekedi is repressing his political opponents by either assassinating or arresting them before the polls take place. He is afraid of big challengers.

Related: DRC: Tshisekedi wreaking havoc on political opponents to gain advantage ahead of polls

One of the opponents, Chérubin Okende, a former Transport Minister turned member of opposition, was found dead in a car on July 13, in Kinshasa.

Okende was a member of Moïse Katumbi’s party, Ensemble pour la Republique. Katumbi declared the death as a political assassination, adding: “they want to reduce us to silence”.

The European Union ambassador to Kinshasa and the UN mission in the volatile country also denounced the assassination.

Katumbi's right-hand man, Salomon Kalonda, was brutally arrested by military intelligence agents at Kinshasa International Airport, on May 30, accusing him of illegal possession of a firearm and of plotting to overthrow the government, charges Kalonda denies.

Tshisekedi also targeted Jean-Marc Kabund, former head of President’s party Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), who fell from grace after leaving power and launching an opposition political movement.

In July 2022, Kabund announced the formation of his party, Alliance for Change.  Kabund criticized the Tshisekedi regime and was sentenced to seven years in jail in September 2023.

Members of Kabund's party referred to the trial as a political motivated one, citing the upcoming general elections as reason why Tshisekedi’s opponents are beleaguered.

Related: DRC: M23 became Tshisekedi’s tool to stifle opposition

Tshisekedi is not oppressing his political opponents only. Journalists who refuse to spread his propaganda are also on target.

Sources from Kinshasa confirmed to The Great Lakes Eye that majority of the journalists who reported Tshisekedi’s inhumane acts were either arrested or harassed.

A case in point is the imprisonment of Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, Jeune Afrique’s correspondent in Kinshasa. He is also the deputy director of the site Actualité.cd and a contributor to the Reuters agency. He was arrested by judicial police officers. On September 11, he was held under provisional arrest, and three days later, confined in Makala prison, where he remains in preventative detention.

Writing in The African Report, on September 19, Anne Kappès-Grangé, the Editor-in-chief of Jeune Afrique, noted that the imprisonment of their correspondent in Kinshasa is "a severe breach of the press freedom that the Congolese president claims to champion."

"Stanis knew in these times of war in the East and approaching a presidential election, staying neutral is often frowned upon."

She added: "On 20 September, Tshisekedi will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He will undoubtedly call on his counterparts to condemn Rwanda, which he accuses of supporting the M23 rebels who took up arms again at the end of 2021 in eastern DRC.

"We hope that by then, Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala will have regained his freedom. If not, will the Congolese president spare a thought for our colleague and friend, whose immediate release is being demanded by several embassies (starting with the US embassy in Kinshasa)?"

Tshisekedi’s administration failed to stabilize the volatile eastern DRC, a safe haven to armed groups for almost three decades.

Women and girls are raped day by day; hundreds are killed while millions others are displaced.

The Congolese population no longer has for hope for peace. The Congolese president is aware he cannot win the hearts and minds of Congolese to vote for him in the coming elections since he registered no single achievement throughout his five-year term.

Related: DRC: Tshisekedi's first-term riddled with fraud, broken promises

“Corruption, embezzlement as well as murdering his own people, are what Tshisekedi is known for. The Congolese population has endured a lot of suffering under him but the worry now is that he looks set to do whatever it takes to stay in power,” said an elderly hairdresser on Ngiri Ngiri avenue, in Kinshasa, who preferred anonymity.

“He is killing innocent people! He is frightened he might not be able to steal the vote just like he did in 2018.”