(TV screen shot by Alex Engwete)
***
Kudura Kasongo, erstwhile spokesperson of Joseph Kabila, has of late
reinvented himself... He now anchors the newscast of Congo Média
Channel, a TV station he owns.
I should add that it's a reinvention to his previous incarnation:
under Mobutu, Kudura Kasongo worked for a long time as an anchor at
the state-owned "La Voix Zaïre" (Voice of Zaire) before moving on to
other prominent positions in government.
His son, Kudura Kasongo Jr, also works as a journalist at Congo Média Channel.
Kudura Kasongo also regularly appears on the same TV station as a
pundit for a program called "Tout le monde en parle" (Everyone talks
about it).
He takes the opportunity of his appearances in this program to respond
to his political enemies within the AMP (the Alliance of Presidential
Majority) who are wont to cast aspersions on his integrity.
At his last intervention on "Tout le monde en parle," he tackled
head-on a number of sensitive issues, like the innuendos spread on
Radio-Trottoir channels of his embezzlement of funds while working for
the Raïs (see previous post), the proposal to change the
constitutional provision from a proportional representation system to
a majority representation system, and the indefinite suspension from
the AMP of MP Bahati for criticizing the platform.
Kudura Kasongo stated firmly he never embezzled funds but was instead
fired by the former National Security Advisor to the President over
the way he and the presidential communication service he headed were
repeatedly slightly by those around the Raïs. And he challenged them
to a public debate. He further announced that he'd call a press
conference at the opportune moment to clarify the issue.
The story alleging Kudura Kasongo's embezzlement being circulated
through the grapevine shows that, just as under Mobutu, the powers
that be routinely and conveniently leak or "plant" (dis)information
into Radio-Trottoir channels to discredit people.
Kudura Kasongo bluntly attacked the project being floated by some in
the AMP to change the proportional representation system to a majority
system. This kind of ideas, he warned, might end up in a reversal to a
one-party system--a dangerous development in a post-conflict
environment.
As for the "indefinite suspension" of MP Bahati, a permanent thorn on
the side of the AMP for his constant criticism of the lethargy and
sclerosis of the platform, Kudura Kasongo laughed at the idea of
suspending someone indefinitely. He deplored the lack of clear-cut
system of sanctions within the AMP and at the Presidency. He also
warned that curbing self-criticism within an organization could obtain
deleterious tunnel vision.
If anything, Kudura Kasongo has chutzpah by daring to come out this
way against his own platform at a time when AMP stalwarts are
powwowing this weekend around the "moral authority" at Kingakati
Presidential Farm.
***
(Sent via BlackBerry with local SIM card)
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