DRC Presidential election: Katumbi supporter killed in clashes

A member of the party’s opponent and presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi was killed Tuesday in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in clashes with supporters of the ruling party, reliable sources said.

Lawyer and father of six children, Dido Kasingi “was killed” in the attack on Moïse Katumbi ‘s procession which arrived in Kindu, capital of the province of Maniema (east) for his campaign, declared Hervé Diakiese, door -spokesperson for Ensemble pour la République, during a press conference in Kinshasa.

The dead man was the youth president of this political group, Mr. Diakiese accused the governor of Maniema, Idrissa Mangala, of being the instigator of this tragedy and demanded his “immediate suspension” and his placing “at the disposal of justice”.

Witnesses said that, the clashes had opposed members of Ensemble pour la République, Mr Katumbi’s party, and members of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the ruling party.

“The attackers stoned the procession (of Katumbi) from the grounds of the residence of Governor Idrissa Mangala,” maintained Mr Diakiese, believing that it was a “clearly premeditated attack”.

Governor Mangala declared that this incident “follows the barbaric behavior” of Mr Katumbi’s supporters. Dido Kasingi “was not killed by the demonstrators, he was mowed down by a vehicle” from Mr Katumbi’s procession passing during the “altercation”, he added.

The mayor of the town of Kindu, Augustin Mulamba said that this tragedy occurred following “clashes” and “stone throwing” between supporters of Moïse Katumbi and those of the president’s UDPS. Felix Tshisekedi.

Mr Tshisekedi arrived in the evening in Bunia, in the province of Ituri (north-east). “What brought me here is the election of December 20, trust again, give me the second mandate in order to pursue our various projects,” he declared in a rally.

Ituri has been plagued by violence since 2017, and 1.7 million residents have fled their villages there because of massacres perpetrated by different armed groups since then.

Hervé Kazadi, a resident who came to listen to Félix Tshisekedi, said he trusted him last, unlike Jean Pierre Ombani. “What we expected from him was to take stock and tell us what he has concretely achieved, because there is still insecurity, the armed groups are not disarmed, the roads are in poor condition “, the teacher said.

Africanews/Hauwa M.