Joseph Kabila’s second term as the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) should expire on the 19th of December. However, there are contentions that Kabila may be looking for ways to force an extension of the 15-year-long leadership, which he inherited from his father. The United Nations and certain human rights groups have now expressed concerns over the repression against opposition parties in the coming elections.
General elections will be held in the DRC on the 27th of November 2016, but the build up to the polls is not encouraging. On Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, completed his four-day mission to the DRC. Zeid, who addressed a Press Conference before exiting, lauded the country’s efforts to strengthen their appreciation for human rights, but also added that the advances may now be under threat.
“But today, it seems these advances may be in danger. As crucial electoral deadlines approach, there is rising tension. I receive reports of increasing violations of fundamental civil and political rights by State actors. These, notably, include violations of freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly; rights anchored in the binding international treaties to which the DRC is party, and enshrined in the Congolese constitution. The public space for the expression of dissent is now clearly under pressure.
“I am very concerned about reports of increasing harassment of civil society representatives and journalists, as well as the repression of voices which oppose the Government, and the excessive, and sometimes lethal, dispersal of demonstrations. We have documented more than 800 victims of such violations from June 2015 to May 2016, indicating an accelerating trend. I condemn the loss of life during demonstrations in Butembo, Goma, Kinshasa and elsewhere, and I note with concern the arbitrary arrests, acts of intimidation and repression in the main cities.
“I am disturbed by numerous accounts of double standards in respect of public gatherings. Demonstrations and meetings by the opposition and civil society are frequently impeded or repressed, while those organized by the presidential majority generally proceed without obstruction. I also have longstanding and continuing concerns regarding apparent political interference in the judiciary, including violations of due process guarantees and unjustified prosecutions of dissenting voices. Furthermore, I am troubled by the disproportionate severity of penalties in many of these cases,” Zeid noted.
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council expressed “deep concern” at political restrictions in the DRC. An example of a ‘technically’ silenced popular opposition is the former governor of the Katanga Province, Moïse Katumbi. After he left Kabila’s ruling party in September 2015, he secured the endorsement of two opposition platforms and launched his presidential campaign in May this year. Unfortunately, within two weeks, the 51-year-old found himself presented with an arrest warrant on allegations that he had recruited foreign mercenaries. Katumbi was later sentenced in absentia to three years in prison for illegally selling a building. Both charges have been denounced as politically motivated.
There is need for the DRC to learn from past experiences of the path it is following. Between 2010 and 2011, the intolerance of opposition in Cote d’Ivoire plunged the country into a civil war. Apart from the hundreds of Ivorians killed during the crisis, the country was severely damaged.
Worthy of note, is the arguable freedom of expression and assembly enjoyed by the opposition parties, before and after the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. The current democratic stability in Nigeria has been attributed to the singular gesture of the previous government. Perhaps, if President Joseph Kabila and his party members take a leaf from these events, opposition parties will be free to associate within the confines of the law. This will put the Democratic Republic of the Congo among countries with greater respect for human rights.
