The news in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to make a lot of ink flow, especially following the assassination of the national deputy and former Minister of Transport, Ways and Communication, Chérubin Okende. While investigations are underway, the opposition political party, Together for the Republic, denounces the slowness in setting up a multidisciplinary commission with the support of international experts. They ask that this commission be put in place quickly so as not to let the evidence dissipate and to make it possible to elucidate the circumstances of this assassination.
The Congolese government’s announcement that investigations are underway and that guarantees are being given to call in independent international experts did not satisfy the political party. They believe that the Congolese justice system has been removed from the investigation of the case and deplore the haste with which the information on the case was communicated.
Among the points of concern, the party raises the fact that the autopsy has not yet been performed, yet essential to determine the circumstances of death and the means used to cause it. They wonder about the non-respect of the principle of the secrecy of the instruction and question the conclusion according to which Chérubin Okende would have died by bullets, without tangible evidence.
Together for the Republic also raises troubling similarities between this assassination and that of human rights activist Floribert Chebeya, and wonders why such turmoil and haste in communicating the case. They demand that the truth be established and that those responsible for this assassination be found.
The political party has expressed its distrust of Congolese justice and has taken steps with foreign chancelleries and Monusco to request independent and thorough investigations.
It is important that light be shed on this assassination in order to do justice to Chérubin Okende and to ensure the safety of political figures in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Congolese public opinion and the international community are eagerly awaiting the results of an independent and impartial international investigation to shed light on this affair