The Congolese political scene experienced an unexpected reversal of the situation on Thursday, May 30, 2023. After several days of tension, in particular following the brutally repressed demonstration of opponents by the police on May 20, then another march which rather flopped a week later, no one would have imagined such a twist. Not even Moïse Katumbi and Salomon Idi Kalonda Della, who are very well informed.
At N’djili International Airport, Salomon Idi Kalonda Della was arrested in a way that is as surprising as it is bewildering. Placed brutally in the cabin of a pickup and hooded, the arrest was filmed and relayed by the communication network of the opponents. If it shocked, it also made it possible to circulate information and to denounce the lack of respect for the rule of law in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Salomon Idi Kalonda Della, Moise Katumbi’s right-hand man, had already been warned of a probable plan to arrest him, following the May 20 demonstration in Kinshasa. The latter created in 2016 the National Party for Democracy and Development (PND), which became the second political force in the opposition in the DRC during the legislative elections of 2018.
This arbitrary arrest aroused the indignation of the Congolese political community, and in particular of Moïse Katumbi, who tweeted: “The arbitrary and illegal arrest of my special adviser Salomon Kalonda at Ndjili airport is a villainous kidnapping. No basis End of the rule of law. What is he accused of? Where was he taken? The authorities must explain themselves and release him!”
Thus, the political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains tense, with questions about respect for the rule of law in this country.