The right arm of Moïse Katumbi, Salomon Kalonda Della, was the subject of a search of his residence in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday, June 6. The military intelligence services also searched the residence of Katumbi located in the GB district in the commune of Ngaliema on the same day. According to security sources, the searches were carried out in connection with facts affecting national security, in the context of the Salomon Kalonda Della case.
The special and political adviser to the former governor of Katanga province (Mr. Katumbi) is being prosecuted for undermining state security, inciting soldiers to commit acts contrary to duty and discipline, and illegal detention of weapons. Since his arrest on May 30, Kalonda Della is suspected of being in cahoots with the Rwandan military authorities and the M23 terrorists to overthrow the power of Kinshasa in order to install a Katangese national there.
During a press briefing held on June 5, Lieutenant-Colonel Kangoli Ngoli Patrick, legal adviser to the military intelligence staff, reported that during the opposition demonstration on May 20 in Kinshasa, Salomon Kalonda Idi Della was carrying a firearm.
In criminal law, the search consists of a detailed inspection carried out by a judge or a judicial police officer on the premises where evidence of an offense may be found, often the home of a suspect, from where the term “home visit”. Searches must take place in the presence of the person concerned or his representative, or even of the required witnesses.
This case comes on top of other current events concerning the DRC, such as the war against the ADF in North Kivu, the upcoming launch of national identity cards for the Congolese, the creation of a investigation to fight against military abuses in conflict zones, or the vaccination of more than 900,000 children to prevent the spread of poliomyelitis