Felix Tshisekedi - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

Cash-strapped Congolese eye deep inequalities ahead of vote

FIVE years after graduating with a diploma in computer network maintenance, Georges Bamue, 27, still navigates the streets of the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital as a motorcycle taxi rider, unable to find a job or raise enough to start a business in his trained field. On a good day, he makes around $30, but with Congo's rampant inflation, the depreciation of the local currency, and multiple demands on his meagre income, he struggles to make ends meet by paying rent and making sure his family does not go hungry. Bamue, like millions of Congolese who will head to the…

Nov

2023

By EDWARD MCALLISTER

The big topics that will define Congo’s election

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

As the Democratic Republic of Congo heads to the polls in December, much will come down to President Felix Tshisekedi's perceived performance running the giant Central African country of nearly 100 million people since 2019. Below are the key topics on voters' minds. THE ECONOMY Congo's economy grew 8.5% in 2022, one of the fastest in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by stronger mining output, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Tshisekedi successfully negotiated a $1.5 billion programme with the IMF in July 2021, the first since the IMF broke ties with Kinshasa in 2012 under Tshisekedi's predecessor Joseph Kabila. But despite its…

Nov

2023

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

The main contenders in Congo’s December election

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi faces off against more than two dozen rivals in a December 20 election. His rivals include old foes such as Martin Fayulu, who came second in the disputed 2018 poll, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege. Below are the main candidates in the race. President Felix Tshisekedi Tshisekedi, 60, son of Congo's late opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, came to power in a disputed 2018 election buoyed by a power-sharing alliance with former president Joseph Kabila. The alliance unravelled soon after, so he joined forces with other Congolese political heavyweights including Economy Minister Vital…

Nov

2023

By SONIA ROLLEY

Congo opposition parties discuss joint election candidate, fair vote

NEWS

REPRESENTATIVES of Congo's main opposition parties began talks this week in Pretoria on how to ensure the general election on December 20 will be fair and to decide on a potential joint candidate to challenge President Felix Tshisekedi. A crowded opposition field of 25 candidates has been officially approved by the electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo to face Tshisekedi who is seeking a second term. Campaigning for the election in Congo, the world's largest producer of battery material cobalt and a major copper producer will start on November 20. Opposition candidates include Tshisekedi's old rivals such as Martin…

Nov

2023

By SONIA ROLLEY

Exclusive: Firm chosen to extract gas from Congo’s Lake Kivu failed criteria

NEWS

A Canadian start-up run from a private home was chosen by the Democratic Republic of Congo for a technically complex project to extract methane from the deep waters of a volatile lake, despite the company not meeting the tender's financial criteria, documents seen by Reuters show. President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking re-election in December, has promised to shake off Congo's reputation for opaque dealings as he pushes plans to develop dozens of oil and gas blocks – many of them in environmentally sensitive areas. First to be auctioned were three methane blocks in Lake Kivu, sometimes dubbed a "killer…

Oct

2023

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Eyeing election, Congo president eases some terms of eastern military rule

NEWS

WITH little over two months until a general election, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said some conditions of military rule in conflict-hit eastern provinces would be eased, partly to encourage participation in the vote. He stopped short of cancelling the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces despite pressure to do so from civil society groups and the opposition who say it has done little to contain the many militias destabilising the east since it was imposed in April 2021. In a late-evening televised speech to the nation, the president said a curfew would be lifted and peaceful demonstrations…

Oct

2023

By SONIA ROLLEY and JUSTIN MAKANGARA

Twenty-four candidates sign up for Congolese presidential race in December

NEWS

TWENTY-FOUR candidates, including Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, have officially declared they will compete for the presidency in the December election, the electoral commission said - the deadline for submissions to the race. Old rivals, first-time contenders, and previously sidelined presidential hopefuls are among those running against Tshisekedi, creating a crowded field that some believe could split the opposition vote and increase his chances of securing a second term. Democratic Republic of Congo's CENI election commission shared the profiles of the 24 candidates for the December 20 poll on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The constitutional court will officially confirm the…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Congolese opposition leader Fayulu confirms he will run for the presidency

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo opposition leader Martin Fayulu confirmed he will submit his candidacy for the December presidential election, where he is expected to be one of the main challengers to President Felix Tshisekedi. The 66-year-old former Exxon Mobil executive came second to Tshisekedi in the contentious 2018 election. His party, the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, the African Union and Congo's influential Catholic Church questioned the outcome and Fayulu challenged the results in court. Since then he has remained a vocal critic of Tshisekedi's presidency, threatening to boycott the Dec. 20 ballot in protest at alleged fraud linked…

Sep

2023

By The African Mirror

DRC Congo to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Israeli prime minister says

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo will move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Netanyahu, who met Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi during the U.N. General Assembly, announced in a statement that Israel would also be opening an embassy in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Only a handful of countries have their embassies in Jerusalem, with most others maintaining their diplomatic representation in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Israel's main economic hub. While Israel considers Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there, most of the…

Sep

2023

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Congo president asks UN peacekeepers to start packing up this year

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has asked his government to fast-track the withdrawal of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to ensure it begins at the end of the year, he said at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday. The mission, called MONUSCO, took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010 to help quell insecurity in the eastern part of the Central African country, where armed groups fight over territory and resources. But its presence has become increasingly unpopular in recent years for what critics say is a failure to protect civilians against militia groups, sparking deadly protests.…