DRC Elections 2011 Watch: 1) Radio-Trottoir newsfeed; and 2) Kabila's bilingual press briefing

1) Radio-Trottoir newsfeed

Kinshasa grapevine (Radio-Trottoir) is on overdrive these days. As a matter-of-fact, it has left its natural venue of street corners and has found a new niche on TV.

One  TV station is Radio Lisanga TV (RLTV) owned by controversial erstwhile warlord Roger Lumbala, chair of the RCDN (Rassemblement Congolais des Démocrates Nationalistes). During Africa's World War, MP Lumbala used to be a member of Azarias Ruberwa's Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) before breaking away and setting up his own outfit in Orientale Province called RCD/N ("N" standing for "National"). When warlords integrated the central government in the transitional government in 2003, Lumbala, while keeping the old acronym of his rebel outfit, changed it to stand for Congolese Rally of Nationalist Democrats.

RLTV was partially burned allegedly by pro-Kabila supporters during the riots following the filing by Tshisekedi of his candidacy. Radio-Trottoir now accuses MP Lumbala of arson: he might have burned his own TV station for political gain!

MP Lumbala often appears on his own TV where he spreads the wackiest of the wildest rumors. In an hour-long interview given to his own journalist on Monday, October 17, MP Lumbala announced that Obama, Sarkozy, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé, the European Union, and South Africa have all chosen Tshisekedi as the new president--just as the international community had chosen Kabila in 2006! MP Lumbala also said Obama is fed up with Kabila for selling uranium to Iran--an old rumor spread by the opposition in 2006, and which is now being recycled. In the same interview MP Lumbala reiterated his insults at Léon Kengo wa Dondo, questioning his Congolese citizenship, claiming.that not being a citizen, he had no "natural constituency" in the DRC. He also called Kengo a major "Perturbator of the Republic" from the time of Mobutu's rule to the present.

MP Lumbala didn't stop at his "naturalism" of the true Congolese nationalist patriotism of opposition leaders of his ilk. Hevalso took a swipe at Vital Kamerhe who, he claims, is Kabila's stalking-horse. Besides, having been kicked out of the Presidential Majority (MP) for lack of discipline, he better behave with discipline within the opposition or he'd also be rejected by the opposition for indiscipline.

Asked how the pro-Tshisekedi opposition would behave in the event of his candidate's loss, MP Lumbala's response was ominous: there won't be such an alternative as Tshisekedi must win. Otherwise the opposition would take the fight to the street--and MP Lumbala claimed having already received the assurances of the top brass of security services to the effect that they would disobey any order directing them to fire upon the "revolutiomaries."

During this mock interview made for the sole purpose of giving a platfom to the owner of RLTV, the host asked MP Lumbala about the rumors of "dictarorial tendencies" of Tshisekedi and whether the latter would accomodate the diverse political projects of the various parties and leaders.backimg his presidential bid. MP Lumbala brushed aside those rumors and claimed that Tshisekedi would incorporate all those programs. Asked whether Tshisekedi is playing straight with his allies when he has lined up his own son Fêlix Tshisekedi to run for MP in the same constitiency as Lumbala, the latter responded by saying that though the oppositionists back Tshisekedi's presidential bid they still remain competitors at the legislative level where the party that would have won the most seats at the National.Assembly would pick a prime minister from its ranks.

RLTV has a show called SET 7. SET stands for "Support à Etienne Tshisekedi" and the two hosts of the live show are featured against the background of a huge color portrait painting of Tshisekedi. One of the hosts, Elianezer, has been dubbed "The Prophet" for an exercise in numerology he has recently engaged in on the subject of the official number given by CENI to the 11 presidential candidates based on the alphabetical order of their last names. In that list Tshisekedi is number 11. According to Elianezer, this number 11 is auspicious for Tshisekedi for these reasons: 1) The elections are taking place in the 11th month of the year 2011--the year of "Mopepe ya sika, Mopepe ya Tshisekedi" (the new wind, the wind of Tshisekedi"; and 2) 11 features ominously on September 11, the date of Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States!

There are also rumors being spread by the opposition through Radio-Trottoir channels alleging that the pro-Kabila coalition has set up militias made of machete-wielding "mpomba" (body builders). There are also rumors of intensified banditry by "kuluneurs" (check label cloud for a post relating to the subject), which have people a repeat of "kata-kata" terror during the 2006 elections. "Kata-kata" was an expression coined from the Lingala verb "ko-kata," which means to hack. It described a series of grisly murders that took place during the run-up to the 2006 general elections in which the dozen or so victims were cut to pieces with machetes. Rumors had it that the "kata-kata" were planned and carried out by Jean-Pierre Bemba's militiamen to instill a sense of insecurity and build Bemba's image as the "securocrat" who would restore the rule of law in the Congolese capital. The rumors might have had some truth to it as the unsolved serial murders stopped after the defeat of Bemba's militia by the Presidential Guard!

There were recently a spate of prison breaks in mass numbers. And some opposition leaders were accusing pro-Kabila groups of masterminding those prison breaks so as to enlist hardened criminals in the militias!

It is strange that the CSCAC, the high council on communication and media--the press police--has done nothing to curb the TV shows that have turned into rumor mills despite the much-publicized set of rules it recently released as well as a ban on propaganda prior to the official opening of electoral campaign on October 29. On Kabila's side, the TV station Têlé 50 carries out a constant barrage of pro-incumbent propaganda 24/7!

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I also heard a new moniker given Kabila by the Kinois. The nickname is in the Kikongo language: "Sisa-Bindimbu" or he who leaves beacons of symbols in his wake! Probing why the Raïs was given such an outlandish moniker, I was referred to the "Cinq Chantiers" infrastructure component of Kabila's daunting reconstruction program much maligned by the oppositionists for its limited scope, staggering costs, and botched conception--accordimg to them. It is therefore likely that the pro-Kabila coalition came up with this "Sisa-Bindimbu" moniker and "broadcast" it through Radio-Trottoir.

Another rumor alleges that pro-Tshisekedi supporters from his Luba ethnic group are bragging about his win in November. They are allegedly repeating the following talking point, if that: " We'll squash you, we haven' squashed yet!" I overheard a Kinois who had just been told.about this "tribal threat" angrily react saying: "The Luba will one day rule this country; but it won't be this time around!"

2) Kabila's bilingual press briefing

Today, at a marathon bilingual press briefing lasting two hours forty-five minutes, Kabila fielded questions by local and international journos on questions ranging from his human rights record to the elections--including the weekly Thursday demos by UDPS activists. The press briefing had two parts: in the first one, Kabila took questions and answered them in English. The second part of the press conference was held in French.

Kabila was calm and composed, and tethered any apparent testiness at some of the seemingly impertinent questions put to him. Bruno Minas of Radio France Internationale (RFI), for example, asked Kabila whether he didn't feel somehow "disconnected from the people" when he recently claimed in a speech to the cadre of his coalition that magistrates had a monthly salary of $1,650, whereas their actual salary is $450--an apparent mistake that sparked outrage among them and a short strike. Kabila jokingly chastised Minas for only highlighting the salary part of his speech, while forgetting the many other issues he'd broached in it. But he also explained that while the decree of the raise of the magistrates' salary had been signed in 2010, it's the actual implementation of the new salary that has been lagging. A gap soon to be bridged, he claimed. Adding, "And even then, $1,650 isn't enough for a magistrate!"

Asked about his humam rights record, Kabila claimed  it's improving, while reminding the questioner that for 300 hundred years slavery was carried out without so much a peep coming from the very parts of the world that have turned into today's champions of human rights. Ditto for the more than 60 years of colonization, and just 20 years ago, the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Strangely, Kabila revealed that he learned about the deployment of American troops in Central Africa while surfing the net. He explained his not being informed by the fact that Joseph Kony and the LRA now mostly operate in the Central African Republic and the Republic of South Sudan.

Kabila showed moxie when it came to the election and the UDPS weekly demos. He jokingly retorted to a reporter (who asked what he'd do if he loses the election) that he'd turn to journalism--and added he'd leave office though he was however certain he'd be reelected. He also jokingly offered to be a mediator for opposition leaders who can't agree on a common candidate. But on a serious note, without naming UDPS, he questioned its tactic of Thursdays' demos we are "at four or five Thursdays from the elections." He accused the same parties that boycotted the 2006 elections to try and hold back the country once more. "The people will resist" such move.

If anything, Kabila proved wrong today those who claim he's incapable of public speaking or engaging in a live debate. I saw today a combative candidate able to defend his record and to do so rationally--and at times with witty repartees. Be that as it may, political parties are quite entrenched in their positions and no amount of wit would make their followers budge. Furthermore, it's also question of alternative visions of governance and societal projects. In the end, granting that elections are fair and square, it's the "primary sovereign" or the people that will decide on November 28.