In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the opposition is once again repressed by the government authorities. This is the case of former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo who was banned from a meeting planned in the town of Kenge. The police thus prevented the politician from entering the hall of the fiftieth anniversary, accompanied by his sympathizers who finally had to leave the premises at the request of the local authorities.
The reason given by the government authorities to justify the banning of the Matata Ponyo meeting is the precarious security situation in the Kwango area, a consequence of the activism of the Mobondo militia. According to a spokesperson for the provincial government, it was also a question of protecting the former prime minister, accused of having mismanaged several projects for Kwango.
This ban follows an opposition march violently repressed by law enforcement and security forces in Kinshasa a week ago. The four opposition leaders, Moise Katumbi, Martin Fayulu, Matata Ponyo and Delly Sesanga, were prevented from organizing a sit-in in front of the Office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to protest against a “chaotic electoral process “.
Matata Ponyo denounced this new ban as proof of the dictatorship in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to him, the dictatorship has extended to the churches, the meetings within the rooms being in the religious concessions being struck by an unimaginable dictatorship.
This new ban once again bears witness to the political tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the opposition is calling for free and transparent elections, while the government authorities are struggling to build a political environment conducive to calming people’s minds and strengthening the fight against armed militias and terrorist groups that operate in many parts of the country