• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us

For all official information and updates regarding COVID-19, visit the South African Department of Health's website at www.sacoronavirus.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home Africa

DR Congo’s Kabila urges unity on eve of new president’s inauguration

24 January 2019, 7:29 AM  |
AFP AFP |  @SABCNews
President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

Image: Reuters

President Joseph Kabila is due to step down after close to two decades in power.

Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi will be sworn in on Thursday as DR Congo’s next president, sources in Kinshasa said, as outgoing President Joseph Kabila called for national unity.

In his first speech since the December 30 presidential election, Kabila said he was “calling for a grand coalition of all the progressive forces”.

“A coalition against the predatory forces that have come together and will always try to join forces to monopolise our natural resources,” Kabila said on state channel RTNC.

The inauguration will be held at the Palace of the Nation, the seat of the presidency, starting at noon (1100 GMT), aides to Tshisekedi and Kabila said on Wednesday, ending uncertainty about when the ceremony would take place.

It will be the first peaceful transition of power in the history of the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo, which gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Tshisekedi, 55, will be taking the helm from Kabila who at only 47 has ruled the vast country for 18 years, succeeding his father Laurent-Desire, who was assassinated in 2001.

Tshisekedi was declared winner of the election with 38.5 percent of the vote, while his opposition rival Martin Fayulu was credited with coming a close second with 34.8 percent.

But Fayulu says he was the true winner, with 61 percent of the ballot, against 18 percent each for Tshisekedi and Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, Kabila’s preferred candidate.

Fayulu has angrily characterised the official result as an “electoral coup” cooked up by Kabila and Tshisekedi.

But he lost a challenge at the Constitutional Court, and foreign support for his position has waned, mainly to avoid the bloody confrontations that have marred this vast country’s history.

Kabila congratulated Tshisekedi in his speech on Wednesday, saying he will hand over power to him “without regret or remorse”.

“He must be able to count on me whenever he wants and that the interest of the country requires.”

– US hails peaceful transition –

The United States on Wednesday recognised Tshisekedi as the next president and hailed Kabila for enabling a historic peaceful transfer of power.

It followed signals from the African Union and European Union that they too are ready to work with Tshisekedi, showing no appetite for prolonging the uncertainties in this violence-prone nation.

“We are committed to working with the new DRC government. We encourage the government to include a broad representation of Congo’s political stakeholders and to address reports of electoral irregularities,” US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

While France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that “doubts” remain about whether Tshisekedi won the election, he stressed that the priority was to preserve peace and calm in the country.

DR Congo, which covers an area akin to that of western Europe, lived through two regional wars in 1996-97 and 1998-2003, and its last two presidential elections in 2006 and 2011 were marred by deadly clashes.

Tshisekedi is the son of the late veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who died in February 2017, aged 84.

One of his first tasks in office will be to choose a prime minister, likely one of the pro-Kabila lawmakers who dominate the 500-seat National Assembly.

Parliamentary elections were also held on December 30 alongside presidential and provincial polls.

The Joint Front for Congo (FCC), which supports Kabila, controls 337 seats in the assembly while Fayulu’s Lamuka coalition holds 102.

The Heading for Change (Cach) coalition, which backs Tshisekedi, holds just 46, according to a provisional UN tally.

The presidential inauguration had initially been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed in order to give more time for preparations, notably invitations to foreign VIPs.

Share article
Tags: InaugurationDR CongoJoseph kabilaNew presidentNational UnityFelix Tshisekedi
Previous Post

Trump won’t deliver State of Union until shutdown ends: Speaker

Next Post

DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims

Related Posts

Protesters set fire to the Libyan parliament building after protests against the failure of the government in Tobruk, Libya July 1, 2022.

Libyan protest movement says it will step up its campaign

3 July 2022, 4:51 AM
People protest against a power outage inside Martyrs' Square, in Tripoli, Libya July 1, 2022. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

Angry protests against feuding leaders grip Libyan cities

2 July 2022, 4:34 PM
The first two bronzes, one depicting the head of a king, the other showing a king and his four attendants, will be taken back personally by Nigerian Foreign Minister Zubairu Dada and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed, who were present at the ceremony.

Germany hands first of Benin Bronzes back to Nigeria

1 July 2022, 11:12 PM
Demonstrators march in support of LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter movements in New York City, New York, June 25, 2020.

Nigerian Islamic court orders death by stoning of three men convicted of homosexuality

1 July 2022, 8:55 PM
the International Monetary Fund headquarters building.

IMF delegation heading to Tunisia to start loan talks -central bank

1 July 2022, 8:21 PM
Members of the military personnel arrive to take part in a parade calling for parliamentary and presidential election, at Martyr's square in Tripoli, Libya

Power cut protests hit Libyan cities, showing anger at factional leaders

1 July 2022, 7:47 PM
Next Post
DA Leader Mmusi Maimane.

DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • EMS says fire at Bree Street Taxi Rank in Johannesburg has been extinguished
  • The public has until 18 May to make submissions on Icasa’s regulations for extension of expiry period for data, airtime
  • ANC NEC expected to hold a special meeting on Sunday
  • Eastern Cape flood victims plead for support as access to food, services remains difficult
  • Amathole Regional Secretary elated to have corruption charges against him dropped
  • E Cape Liquor Board says Enyobeni tavern owner will face criminal charges
  • Missing Soweto boy’s body found at Eldorado Park wastewater plant
  • Interpol arrests suspect for swindling US citizens millions of dollars
  • Police close investigation into Enyobeni tavern tragedy
  • Taxi commuters to pay an additional R5 in fare from Friday
  • East London police search for clues that led to tavern death; calls to revoke tavern’s licence 
  • UPDATE: At least 17 people killed in an East London tavern stampede
  • SANTACO and NTA calls on COSATU to join the national shutdown over the hiking fuel prices
  • NTA yet to decide whether to support calls for national shutdown amid fuel price hikes
  • South Africans no longer required to wear face masks indoors

LATEST

A woman looks on next to a parafin light during an electricity load-shedding in Soweto, South Africa, March 2021.
  • Business

Eskom to implement Stage 6 rolling blackouts from Monday afternoon


Image: Reuters
The wives of the late Amazulu King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu
  • South Africa

AmaZulu royal family concludes ceremonial mourning period activities for late King


Ismael Mchunu from the Durban University of Technology was crowned the winner of the 2022 Hollywoodbets Durban July Young Designer Award
  • Lifestyle

Hollywoodbets Durban July boosts local economy, generates over 700 new jobs: Authorities


A view of a flooded road following heavy rains in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia March 2, 2022.
  • Sci-tech

Floods hit southeast Australia, forcing evacuations


Accident
  • South Africa

12 vehicles involved in a collision on N1 South Bound on Saturday


Police tapes in a crime scene.
  • South Africa

Limpopo TVET educator killed in mob justice for allegedly stealing goats


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous Trump won’t deliver State of Union until shutdown ends: Speaker
Next DA Leader Mmusi Maimane. DA to hold memorial service for Life Esidimeni victims