DR Congo president’s rival charged with hiring mercenaries

KINSHASA, DR Congo – Powerful DR Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi has been charged with hiring foreign mercenaries, a government spokesman said Thursday, May 19, in a controversial case that has been denounced as politically motivated.

Spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP that an arrest warrant had been issued for Katumbi, who is President Joseph Kabila’s leading rival. Katumbi had announced plans to stand against the long-serving leader in elections due this year.

“The prosecutors have handed their ruling. He is no longer free and he can no longer do what he wants,” Mende said.

“He can either be put under house arrest or be jailed,” he added.

The move came amid mounting tensions in the mineral-rich but chronically restive central African over the elections for which the dates have not been announced yet.

On Wednesday, DR Congo’s Constitutional Court ruled that Kabila, in power since 2001, can stay in office beyond 2016 without being re-elected, sparking fierce protests.

Katumbi, the wealthy owner of the prestigious Tout-Puissant Mazembe football club, is accused of hiring several foreign mercenaries, notably Americans, as his private guards.

If he is found guilty in a criminal case, he would be barred from standing for the presidency. Katumbi has denied the allegations as “grotesque lies.” – Rappler.com