At least 17 people have been killed in violent protests in Congolese capital, Kinshasa, against incumbent President Joseph Kabila in what protesters referred to as an intent to extend his mandate.
This comes after the elections due to be held in November were postponed as authorities said they wanted to enroll millions of new voters.
Kabila’s tenure is due to end on December 19, and the protesters accuse him of plotting to extend his tenure by delaying the elections.
Many African leaders are guilty of sitting over governments for decades and refusing to relinquish power to a new government. This seems to be a likely case; something the protesters were out to fight.
Angry protesters tore down photographs of Kabila chanting in French: ”it’s over for you” and ”we don’t want you”.
Sadly, Congo has never known a peaceful transition of power. The incumbent had taken over from his father who was assassinated in 2001 before going on to win elections five years later in 2006.
The protests were meant to be peaceful. The plan was to send a letter across to the electoral commission to find out if concrete plans were in place for an election and the way forward.
The protests took a different turn when the protesters began an exchange of words with the police who went on to fire water cannons, tear gas and progressed to live ammunitions at the protesters.
Reports say that a police officer was burned while some students and children were among the fatal casualties.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Monday described the situation in Congo as “extremely worrying and very dangerous”, adding that European nations will discuss the possibility of imposing sanctions.
The United States has already threatened sanctions against political figures in Congo over electoral delays however, a senior adviser to Kabila has pleaded to Washington not to.
