Joseph Kabila refuses to give up the Congo presidency

[basquebromance]

more corruption and greed from Africa!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/17/w...eph-kabila-corruption.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0

In a mansion along the Congo River, with a collection of expensive watches, expensive motorcycles and a chimpanzee in a cage, Joseph Kabila, the president of this vast and troubled country, should be packing up.

Instead, he is digging in.

His second term is up in a few days, the Constitution forbids him to run for a third, millions of people are threatening to mobilize against him, and still Mr. Kabila shows no signs of leaving.

the security forces are brutal and loosely controlled. Add to that dozens of armed groups operating in the hinterlands.

Many people here are terrified that if Mr. Kabila clings to power at all costs, as some of his counterparts across Africa recently have, Congo could explode.

According to forensic investigators, mining executives and officials in his own government, Mr. Kabila has looted millions of dollars in public assets.

Recent troves of documents shared with The New York Times — whose authenticity has been verified by current and former Congolese officials — reveal a string of suspicious bank transfers totaling $95.7 million, dubious mining rights sales that have generated millions more and possible money-laundering schemes involving a bank executive widely described as Mr. Kabila’s adopted brother.

 

[miketx]

Isn't Obama from Africa?

 

[basquebromance]

duh

 

[basquebromance]

Kabila’s forces and their supporters have arrested journalists, jailed opposition politicians, firebombed opposition headquarters and assassinated a Catholic priest who held workshops on the Constitution and its limit of a two-term presidency. Scores of anti-Kabila protesters have already been shot dead, turning more people against Kabila each day.

 

[waltky]

Protests over Kabila's refusal to step down from power...

DRC: At Least Two Dead in Anti-Kabila Protests
December 31, 2017 - At least two civilians have been killed as violence erupted ahead of protests in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday.

Police fired shots and tear gas to break up a Catholic mass and arrested altar boys who were among protesters gathering at the church to rally against President Joseph Kabila.

Congolese protest against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down from power in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo​

Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said two men had been killed outside the church. The French news agency, AFP, reported that an officer and a youth in the suburbs of Kinshasa were also killed.

The DRC has been mired in a political crisis over Kabila's refusal to step down from power. His second and last term as president ended in December 2016. New elections slated for 2017 have been delayed for at least one more year, fueling anger among Congolese militias and citizens.

DRC: At Least Two Dead in Anti-Kabila Protests

See also:

Congo reports suspect arrested in killing of 2 UN experts
Dec. 30, 2017 -- The suspected mastermind behind killing two United Nations experts in the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested Saturday, according to authorities.

Congolese authorities said the man arrested, Constantin Tshidime Bulabula, is behind the slaying of Michael Sharp, of the United States, and Zaida Catalan, of Sweden, working with the U.N. mission to the DRC. The two were last seen March 12 while investigating human rights abuses in the remote village of Bunkonde.

The bodies of United Nations workers, found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, were confirmed to be those of Zaida Catalan, left, and Michael Sharp, who were reported missing on March 12.​

Catalan and Sharp were part of a mission known as the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo, responsible for monitoring insurgent groups in the eastern part of the country. Their bodies were found 15 days later. Catalan had been decapitated. According to a military spokesman, Tshidime Bulabula is chief of a town south of where the killings took place. He was taken into custody about 60 miles from his home, and has since been taken to Kananga along with another suspect, Tresor Mputu.

Human rights groups have suspected the government played a role in the killings and a UN inquiry in August could not rule out government involvement. The Congolese army denies involvement, saying the executioners are members of the Kamwina Nsapu militia. Authorities say Bulabula is a member of the militia, which has been in war with Congolese security forces since mid-2016 after the death of its leader. Since then, about 5,000 people have died in the fighting and the UN identified mass graves across the province.

Congo reports suspect arrested in killing of 2 UN experts