TOM TSHIBANGU, Kinshasa | Thurssday
PRESIDENT Laurent Kabila’s son, Joseph, has allegedly taken power in Democratic Republic of Congo, but amid conflicting reports, it remains unclear whether his father is dead or alive after an assassination attempt.
It also remains a mystery whether Joseph Kabila is alive, after earlier reports that he was shot alongside his father.
That the president was shot on Tuesday – and if not killed, then badly wounded – appears beyond dispute. It also appears clear that he was flown to Harare, the capital of his main ally, Zimbabwe, shortly after the shooting.
Zimbabwe’s minister of state for information, Jonathan Moyo, said his government would issue a statement later today based on the medical report by Congolese doctors ”who have been attending to President Kabila”.
Political sources in Harare said authorities in Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, were delaying the announcement of Kabila’s death while they put security arrangements in place to avoid a collapse into anarchy.
This could explain some of the confusion and conflicting statements from senior officials such as Kabila’s defence minister and close aide, Godefroid Tchamlesso, who told Libyan television that he (Kabila) was shot by one of his bodyguards, without giving more details.
The same day, Kabila’s ambassador to Zimbabwe – a key ally of the president in his two-year-long fight against foreign-backed rebels – said the president was alive after being evacuated to Zimbabwe for surgery, although he was in a serious condition.
Zimbabwean Defence Minister Moven Mahachi said Kabila had indeed been assassinated, while foreign governments, including former colonial power Belgium, said Kabila had died after being shot by one of his own soldiers.
In Kinshasa, Information Minister Dominique Sakombi told state radio that Kabila had been flown abroad for medical treatment and announced that his son had taken charge.
”The government of public salvation met in a special session … and decided to entrust the running of the government and military command to Major-General Joseph Kabila,” Sakombi told state radio on Wednesday. – Reuters