Monthly Archives: December 2011

Tshisekedi set to be ‘sworn-in’ as DRC President

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi today plans to hold a ‘swearing-in-ceremony’ after he appointed himself president soon after the incumbent, Joseph Kabila was declared president at the end of the country’s general elections. Last Tuesday, Mr Kabila was sworn in for a second term in office. Western observers denounced the presidential results as seriously flawed, but the commission, backed by the African Union, hailed the polls a success. But Mr Tshisekedi said he was robbed of victory and has planned his inauguration at Martyrs Stadium in the capital, Kinshasa this morning. Supporters have been protesting since the elections, demanding that Mr Kabila cede power. Meanwhile, DRC’s electoral commission has requested … Continue reading →

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24 feared killed since Kabila was re-elected

Posted on December 22, 2011 by

Agency reports Democratic Republic of Congo security forces have killed 24 people since President Joseph Kabila won a disputed presidential election, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. The rights group said all but four of the victims were killed in the capital Kinshasa, where main opposition rival Etienne Tshisekedi is popular. It said there was evidence security forces had tried to hide the killings. Among the victims, a 21-year-old woman was shot dead and her 8-year-old niece shot in the throat on the day of the election results, as police fired on crowds of opposition supporters in the capital according to HRW, which said its information came from fieldwork, local … Continue reading →

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Mugabe is only African leader present as Kabila swears-in

Posted on December 21, 2011 by

By Henry D Gombya, Managing Editor Just one head of state and a handful of close associates were at hand to witness the swearing-in ceremony of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s President Joseph Kabila for his second term of office. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, one of the four Great Lakes Region leaders whose forces have fought in the DRC, was the only African leader who bothered to turn up in Kinshasa as 40-year old President Kabila was sworn in after winning an election many opponents believe he stole and an election that Western observers believed to be too flawed to be credible. Envoys representing their countries were allegedly ordered … Continue reading →

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28-year old named to lead world’s most unstable nation

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

The abrupt death of Kim Jong-Il, the hermetic North Korea leader, threw the rest of Asia into deep anxiety Monday and reverberated across the Pacific. Friends and enemies of the nuclear-armed country fretted over whether it was now facing an unpredictable power struggle — even as the official North Korean press proclaimed that Mr. Kim’s cherubic-faced youngest son was his successor. The son, Kim Jong-un, is such an unknown that the world did not even know what he looked like until last year. Believed to be in his 20s, the son faces enormous uncertainty over his ability to retain power in one of the most opaque and repressive countries — … Continue reading →

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ICC orders Mbarushimana’s release as case against him collapses

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

By Henry D Gombya The International Criminal Court (ICC) sitting in The Hague Friday has declined to confirm charges of alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes labelled against Callixte Mbarushimana. The abrupt announcement came late Friday evening after the Pre-Trial Chamber I refused to move his case forward to trial stage. Mbarushimana, a Rwandan citizen, was alleged to have carried out the atrocities in Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ICC Prosecutor had argued that there were sufficient evidence to try Mbarushimana on charges of crimes against humanity that included murder, rape, torture, persecution and inhumane acts. He had also been charged with war crimes … Continue reading →

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