Church groups in DR Congo have emerged as the main force opposing incumbent President, Joseph Kabila for “failing” to organize a long overdue presidential election.
UG Christian News has learnt that Catholic and members of Evangelical churches, backed by civil society groups, over the weekend organised an “anti-Kabila march”, demanding that President Kabila respect the Constitution and step down.
Leila Zerrougui, the head of Congo’s U.N. mission, told Reuters news agency on Sunday that 47 people were injured and more than 100 were arrested across the country for participating in a protest organized by the Catholic Church and other church groups.
The marches were meant to start after mass, but ruling party supporters, armed forces surrounded the city’s main churches and blocked several roads, Reuters news agency reported.
According to AFP, three priests were arrested for leading a march in the Saint Pierre de Wagenia district in east Kisangani.
Tear gas was also reportedly used on protesters in cities throughout the country, such as Kikwit in the west and Goma in the east.
Congo “is going through a particularly turbulent time in its history”, the Civil Society Action Collective, a coalition of civil society groups, said in a statement seen by Aljazeera before Sunday’s march.
“The power in place persists by executing a scorched-earth strategy to keep itself in power,” the coalition said.
The groups are demanding the prompt organisation of elections and a pledge from term-limited Kabila not to stand for re-election.
Last month, World Vision DRC’s acting national director, Edouard Ngoy, echoed calls for calm.
“World Vision has been supporting disadvantaged communities in the DRC for more than 30 years and continues to provide support in health and nutrition, education, livelihoods, emergency response, child protection, and humanitarian response. . . As a Christian organisation, we aspire to see a DRC in which families, communities and partners improve the well being of children.”
Delayed Polls
Under a 2016 agreement, brokered by the church, between the Congolese government and opposition groups, Kabila agreed while coming to power in 2001, to organise presidential, legislative and provincial elections by the end of 2017.
But, at the end of December, the president announced the vote would be postponed until the end of 2018 to account for delays in voter registration.
Election officials have told local reporters that polls may not be possible even then because of financial and logistical constraints.
The delays have led to increasing frustration among many Congolese citizens.
Though led by church-affiliated activists, critics purporte the protests have been supported by Congolese civil society groups, who fear Kabila is trying to “establish a dictatorship” in the country.
By Staff Writer.
