By Samantha Netzband
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo-17 are dead after violent clashes in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Violence broke out after current President Joseph Kabila said the government would be postponing the country’s Presidential election. The election, which was originally scheduled for later this year, will now be held in mid 2017.
Protesters yell in front of a burning car during a demonstration in Kinshasa. (Photo Courtesy of The Guardian.
Opposition leaders are frustrated with the President, claiming that he is trying to stay in office even though the country’s constitution does not allow a President to be in office for three terms. President Kabila and other government officials are claiming that this is not the case. The government says that there are not enough resources to hold a fair election and the postponement is only to ensure a fair transition.
The United States and other observers are considering sanctions against the Congolese government if elections are not held as planned later this year. Barnabe Kikaya Bin Karubi, Congo’s Chief Diplomatic Adviser, is currently in the United States pleading with United States officials to not sanction the Congo’s government.
“There are two resolutions that were pending in the House to impose sanctions on Congolese officials,” Kikaya said previously. “My mission is to plead with American officials and to prove to them that sanctions are not a solution to help us resolve our problems.”
The toll of the delayed election is already being seen at home. Three police officers and fourteen protesters have been reported dead. A police officer was burned in retaliation for shooting at protesters, and one opposition leader says he saw 25 protesters gunned down by security forces. While the government reports the death toll as 17, other reports have marked the number as closer to 50.
For more information, please see:
CNBC Africa – Clashes in Kinshasa leave 17 dead – 20 September 2016
The Guardian – Clashes in Kinshasa leave 50 dead, say DRC opposition groups – 20 September 2016
