Salomon Idi Kalonda, special adviser to Moïse Katumbi, was arrested on May 30 for possession of a firearm and plotting against the Congolese government. According to the military intelligence services, he would have been in possession of a 9 millimeter pistol, and would have sought to overthrow the power in place and install a Katangese national there.
The accusations do not stop there, since Katumbi’s adviser is also accused of having been in contact with officers of the M23/RDF terrorist movement, and of having conspired with the Rwandan army to overthrow power in Kinshasa.
Salomon Idi Kalonda was arrested at Ndjili airport as he was about to return to Lubumbashi with Moise Katumbi and the team from the Ensemble pour la République party after a month spent in Kinshasa during opposition demonstrations. This arrest was described as “political” by several voices within the opposition, in the run-up to the elections scheduled for December 20, 2023.
The security services also revealed that the accused had been secured without authorization by armed elements of the Congolese army, including a major responsible for acquiring weapons of war for Mr. Salomon Idi Kalonda Della.
This arrest adds to the list of recent events in the DRC, such as the inter-community violence and banditry that continue to plague the country, or the establishment of a state of siege in an attempt to strengthen security in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
Beyond the news, the DRC must also face economic and development challenges, with projects like that of Chrinovic aimed at diversifying the Congolese economy and President Tshisekedi’s call for a harmonization of investments to boost infrastructure development in the country