DRC elections: three factors that have shaped Tshisekedi’s bumpy first term as president

DRC elections: three factors that have shaped Tshisekedi’s bumpy first term as president

By Reuben Loffman, Queen Mary University of London Africa’s second-largest country by land mass, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is scheduled to go to the polls on 20 December 2023. President Felix Tshisekedi will be seeking re-election. However, his first tenure has been decidedly mixed. Tshisekedi’s first term has been defined by three major factors: questions over the legitimacy of his 2019 election victory, violence in eastern DRC and the […]

December 7, 2023 10

Africa

East DR Congo: president’s elusive bid for peace

Felix Tshisekedi became president of the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2019 and promised to pacify the east, the scene of decades of militia violence. Nearly five years on, peace in the turbulent region remains elusive, with the security crisis a key issue in December 20 polls in which Tshisekedi is seeking re-election. Here are the main statements and decisions on the crisis made by the president during his […]

December 6, 2023 5

Namibia

Geingob reiterates decision not to deploy Namibian troops to DRC

President Hage Geingob has reiterated his government decision not to deploy troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the Southern Africa Community Development peacekeeping mission. Last week, the SADC and the DRC government signed an agreement in Kinshasa for the deployment of troops to help quell the scourge of armed groups, including the M23 rebels, in the eastern part of the mineral-rich Central African country. The decision […]

November 28, 2023 10

Africa

Armed violence forces 450,000 to flee in DR Congo

An increase in armed violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has led to an influx of displaced people. The United Nations says 450,000 people have been forced to flee their homes over the past 6 weeks. Chris Ocamringa has more from Kinshasa.

November 27, 2023 54

2

Africa

Namibia begins repatriation of refugees to the DRC

The Home Affairs Ministry, in partnership with UNHCR and the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has begun repatriating refugees. The first group of 49 refugees was repatriated, and the remaining 38 will be repatriated tomorrow to Lubumbashi in the DRC, through Hosea Kutako International Airport, according to Refugee Commissioner Josephine Kampolo.

November 21, 2023 42 2

Africa

Ex-DR Congo PM backs Katumbi amid election tensions

The former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Augustin Matata Ponyo, has withdrawn from next month's presidential election. He said he would now be backing Moïse Katumbi, a millionaire businessman and former governor of the Katanga region. According to the BBC, the run-up to the 20 December vote has been tense with human rights groups accusing the authorities of cracking down on dissent and freedom of expression - […]

November 20, 2023 4

Africa

‘It hurts’: DR Congo currency drops amid war spending, arrears payments

By Emmet Livingstone A falling local currency, salary arrears payments and war spending have pushed up prices in impoverished Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving locals struggling to afford basics. Since the new year, the Congolese franc has depreciated about 15 percent against the US dollar, according to official figures and money changers, hitting the poorest hardest. Several people interviewed by AFP said that in some cases prices had risen much […]

April 3, 2023 5