2023-10-29 – The burning news from the Congolese political tumult and the latest revelations
In the Congolese political landscape, electoral disputes give rise to lively debates and surprising revelations. The opening of the hearing ruling on these disputes offered the Congolese a glimpse of the absence of arguments from Moïse Katumbi’s team of lawyers.
Even before Noël Tshiani’s accusations denouncing Moïse Katumbi Chapwe as a foreign subject, lawyer Natacha Latere revealed the comedy secret of Moïse Katumbi’s political family, who himself admitted on several occasions his foreign origins.
Unfortunately, despite the enormous sums of money paid to his lawyers, Moïse Katumbi neglected the essential element of the defense: solid arguments. Instead of dismantling Noël Tshiani’s accusations, the lawyers of the former governor of Katanga chose to insult him, thus diverting attention from the substance of the debate.
This diversion is a major asset of Katumbi’s team, which is trying to legitimize the requirement of “Congolity” as a criterion for being a candidate for the presidency. However, they failed to answer the crucial question of their client’s nationality and to demonstrate whether or not he had held a nationality other than that of the DRC between 2000 and 2017.
Lawyer Natacha Latere emphasizes that Moïse Katumbi, by having held Italian nationality, de facto lost his Congolese nationality, unless he demonstrated that he had renounced his second nationality and initiated the procedure to recover his Congolese nationality. Thus, he remains considered a foreigner in the DRC, even in a situation of statelessness.
This affair concerns the Congolese who are concerned about the credibility of Moïse Katumbi as a leader, given his diversity of origins and his links with other countries. The judges of the Constitutional Court will have to decide this crucial question and decide whether Moïse Katumbi is eligible for the presidential office.
In any case, this affair highlights the importance of transparency and truth in the Congolese political landscape. The Congolese have the right to know the links of their candidates for the supreme office with other countries and their real attachment to the Congo. The decision of the judges of the Constitutional Court will be decisive for the political future of the country.