From his jail cell at The Hague Jean-Pierre Bemba fires François Muamba, acting Prez of his party

Just as Cosa Nostra dons continue to run their businesses from prison, Jean-Pierre Bemba, an ICC prison inmate at The Hague, fired early this week MP François Muamba as head of the MLC bloc at the National Assembly and as acting president of the party.

Thomas Luhaka, Muamba's erstwhile deputy, is now in command of the party, after hastily convening MLC founding leaders to apprise them of Bemba's decision.

Hpwever, Muamba refused to abide by that decision and insists that a prisoner can't make a legally-binding decision. Hence, Muamba claims, he's still the acting president of MLC. Some MLC MPs and stalwarts have already sided with him, thus indicating a split of the party a few months shy of the presidential and legislative elections.

Muamba is accused of carrying out a "political euthanasia" of Bemba by suggesting that the MLC could come up with another presidential candidate if Bemba were to be convicted by the ICC.