DR Congo president dissolves ruling coalition

YAOUNDE, Cameroon

President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Sunday announced the dissolution of the National Assembly, so far held by the camp of former President Joseph Kabila.

“I have decided to appoint an informer to identify a new parliamentary majority as the current one has collapsed,” President Felix Tshisekedi said in a message to the nation, after more than two weeks of political consultations at the presidential palace.

He said the coalition with the Kabila camp “did not allow me to set up what I was elected for.”

Tshisekedi came to power in January 2019 and signed a secret coalition agreement with his predecessor Kabila, who kept the majority in parliament.

The pro-Kabila Common Front for the Congo (FCC) had earlier said it would hang on to its secret deal with the president.

Tshisekedi said: “It is necessary to put an end to the coalition agreement ... and dissolve the National Assembly.”

The political crisis in the DRC between the two allies worsened when Tshisekedi appointed new judges to the Constitutional Court last July and made new appointments in the army and the judiciary.

On Friday, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, called on all parties to preserve “peace and stability” in the Central African country.

Kabila has been prevented from traveling, according to his supporters, without official confirmation, Africanews reported.

“Forbidding Joseph Kabila to travel (...) is a pure and simple violation of his constitutional rights,” human rights lawyer Jean-Claude Katende said.