DRC: Moïse Katumbi launches his party pending the presidential election

The former governor of Katanga, Moïse Katumbi, on Monday launched his party "Together for the Republic" in view of the 2023 presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while remaining for the moment a member of the ruling coalition.

The official launch of the activities of "Together for the Republic" took place in Kisangani, an important city in the northeast of the DRC where Moïse Katumbi arrived in the early afternoon by private jet. Tens of thousands of supporters accompanied him from the airport to Place de la Poste where he held a rally in front of a large crowd.

"I came to Kisangani to officially launch the activities of Ensemble. This city has raised great Congolese politicians. Besides, I will have my second residence here to be in communion with you", he declared in Swahili, the language spoken in eastern DRC.

Red lines

In April, the wealthy businessman had drawn two red lines which would push him to leave the "Sacred Union of the Nation», the government coalition set up by President Félix Tshisekedi at the end of 2020.

• The review by Parliament, a law that excluded any Congolese born to a foreign parent from running for the next presidential election scheduled for 2023.
• The absence of a consensus around the appointment of members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Céni).

Parliament has not put this controversial law on its agenda. On the other hand, the members of the Ceni were invested despite the opposition of the Catholic and Protestant churches. Moïse Katumbi had not sent the list of his delegates.

"Illegal tax"

"I am with them in the Sacred Union of the Nation, but I will not accept nonsense," he threatened, urging the government to remove a tax on cell phones considered "illegal" by the Senate.

With his experience in the mining sector, the former governor of Katanga affirmed that the Covid-19 pandemic could not justify the inability of the government to meet the expectations of the Congolese population at a time when the prices of cobalt and copper have reached historic highs.