Sunday, 16 September 2012

South African Ambassador to Burundi secures safe-conduct for MP Roger Lumbala, who's now in Paris

(PHOTO: Pro-M23 MP Roger Lumbala Tshitenge)



***



Few details have emerged about the safe-conduct the the South African

Ambassador to Bujumbura was able to secure for the Congolese pro-M23

MP Roger Lumbala.



MP Lumbala, flanked by South African diplomats and a UNHCR senior

official, arrived Saturday at Bujumbura International Airport at 11:00

am local time (GMT+ 2) and boarded a Paris-bound Kenya Airways flight,

Radio France Internationale (RFI) reports.



MP Lumbala arrived in Paris in the morning of Sunday, September 16.



On Friday, Burundian External Relations Minister Laurent Kavakure

confirmed to RFI Lumbula's safe passage without adding any further

comment.



But diplomatic sources tell RFI this outcome was possible because the

DRC dragged its feet in lodging its formal extradition request to

Burundi.



(Source: www.rfi.fr/afrique/20120916-burundi-roger-lombala-rdc-m23-laurent-kavakure-france-sud-africaine-ambassade-)



In a phone interview with Radio Okapi Sunday, Lumbala denied any link

with M23, switching from the first person to the third person, as is

his wont, while talking about himself:



"I'm not part of M23. I'm not in contact with friends of M23. Roger

Lumbala is free to go anywhere, wherever he wants, as a citizen of the

world. But this doesn't mean I went to Kigali."



Lumbala added:



"When you want to build, you don't accuse others, you don't look for

scapegoats. I wish the government would rather deal with reform of the

army than look for scapegoats."



Reached by phone to give his reaction to Lumbala's departure from

Bujumbura and his statements from Paris, DRC Media Minister Lambert

Mende told Radio Okapi:



"This changes absolutely nothing to the will of the DRC government to

see Roger Lumbala explain himself before the Congolese justice for the

serious deeds that were reported to us and of which he is the culprit

by conspiring with the Rwandan aggressor against the Democratic

Republic of Congo in this war that continues to plunge North Kivu into

mourning."



(Source: radiookapi.net/actualite/2012/09/16/depuis-paris-roger-lumbala-je-netais-pas-kigali-je-ne-suis-pas-en-contact-avec-le-m23/)



***

PHOTO: Wat.tv

Via: rfi.fr

No comments:

Post a Comment