Etienne Tshisesekedi has taken leave of his senses: he proclaims himself president and calls for violence on Tuesday, November 8

In an eerie telephone interview in Lingala with pro-opposition RLTV anchor Eliezer Ntumba in the night of Sunday, November 6, Etienne Tshisekedi brazenly called his UDPS supporters to resort to violence on Tuesday, November 8,  at noon sharp (Kinshasa Time), and simultaneously in Kananga, Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi. That Tuesday, UDPS militants are to storm prisons in those locations to help jailed UDPS militants in a mass jailbreak.

Tshisekedi claimed he'd already been chosen by the majority of the Congolese people and, hence, the so-called majority in power are a bunch of usurpers. "Kabila is all alone with his wife and kids," he claimed. "People like [Communication Minister] Mende and [Speaker] Boshab, if they're with Kabila by day, at night they come to me."

Furthermore, as the majority has already chosen him, he sees no need of holding elections! He therefore sees himself as the legitimate president chosen by people's voice vote and by acclamation as of Sunday, November 6!

He then lashed out at security forces personnel--especially the police--for doing the bidding of "Kabila and his wife."

He urged his supporters to hunt down those cops who can't toe the line of UDPS and "beat them to a pulp in front of their wives and family."

Asked about the donnybrook that erupted on Saturday, November 5, in Lubumbashi (Katanga) that pitted pro-Kabila supporters of UNAFEC and UDPS militants, Tshisekedi attacked UNAFEC leader Kyungu, former Katanga governor, claiming he was a foreigner, an Angolan whose real name is D'Oliveira!

(The donnybrook started when UDPS motorcade passed in front of UNAFEC headquarters. The fight involved machetes, knives, and clubs--and ended, after the intervention by riot cops, wiith 4 people severely injured.)

Tshisekedi also threatened by name CENI chairman Rev Daniel Ngoy Mulunda, saying that "On December 6 [the date of the announcement of the presidential election results], if that man doesn't go by the people's will he'd be crying in his tribal tongue."

The call to violence by Tshisekedi gives the lie to the claim of Ghandian non-violence Tshisekdi has always said to be his heritage--especially when he speaks in French.

Eliezer Ntumba couldn't however bring Tshisekedi to tell RLTV viewers when exactly would he be coming back home. "Sometime in the middle of next week," Tshisekedi asserted, "on my own plane. I still have errands to run and when they'd finish I'll come!"  He then gave his phone number in South Africa so that Congolese citizens can report personally to him the ongoing government malfeasance: 00227790893872.

This was one of the most bizarre intervews I've ever watched on Congolese live TV broadcast. If anything, it showed that Tshisekedi, in his desperation, has turned into an irresponsible political leader who's got nothing to lose. He might have earned his recent Radio-Trottoir moniker of "National Mourning."

(Radio-Trottoir now calls Tshisekedi "Deuil National" or "National Mourning"--a nickname whose storyline runs as follows: Two months into his presidency, Tshisekedi has a stroke (which in French sounds more dramatic: "AVC" or "Accident Vasculaire Cardiaque"), goes into coma, then dies shortly thereafter! And the whole country is plunged into a National Mourning!)