DRC Elections 2011 Watch: 1) Kin braces for another UDPS demo on Thursday; and 2) MP Roger Lumbala: “Kengo is not a Congolese by a long shot, either on his father’s or his mother’s side”

1) Kin is bracing for yet another UDPS demo on Thursday 

Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo

UDPS Secretary General

(Credits)

UDPS secretary general Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo has written to Kinshasa Governor André Kimbuta (PPRD) to inform him about a mass rally UDPS will hold on Thursday, October 13, at the Square of the Post Office Hotel in downtown Kinshasa. 

In a strange reversal to of its usual anti-UDPS editorial line, the daily L’Avenir condemned the repression meted out previously to UDPS demonstrators, asserting that this was done in violation of the constitution.

While Article 25 of the constitution guarantees the “freedom of peaceful meetings without weapons,” Article 26 specifically states:

“The freedom of demonstration is guaranteed. 

All demonstrations on public roads or in open air oblige the organizers to inform the competent administrative authority in writing. 

No one may be forced to take part in a demonstration. 

The law determines the application measures.”

It remains to be seen if Kinshasa city authorities will let this demo take place or if MP Francis Kalombo wouldn’t call a counter-demo by the PPRD Youth League. 

2) MP Roger Lumbala: “Kengo is not a Congolese by a long shot, either on his father’s or his mother’s side”

Pro-Tshisekedi MP Roger Lumbala

Chair, Rassemblement des Congolais Démocrates Nationalistes (RCDN)

2006 Presidential candidate

Former warlord and current MP Roger Lumbala is known for his abrasive personality and his big mouth. With his latest outburst, Lumbala seems to have outdone even himself. 

When asked, in an interview with L’Avenir, what he thought about Kengo’s self-appointment as the opposition’s common candidate, Lumbala blurted out:

“You know, our country is a victim of its legendary hospitality. Kengo, in principle, his file [submitted to CENI for his presidential candidacy] should have been rejected because he is not a Congolese by a long shot—either on his father’s side or his mother’s side.”

If it's true that Kengo's father was Polish and his mother a Rwandan Tutsi, the fact remains that Kengo is today a Congolese citizen who also happens to be the President of the Senate. While paying lip service to democracy or accusing the Kinshasa regime of infringing civil liberties, Tshisekedi's supporters actually never extend the courtesy of democratic debate or contradiction to their opponents.