South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu expressed concern on Friday that Jean-Pierre Bemba’s decision to reject the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) election results could spark more violence.
”You have to be crazy not to worry,” Tutu told reporters in Brussels, ahead of a debate on good governance in Africa.
”In a volatile and unstable situation, everything of that kind is likely to exacerbate a difficult situation,” said the former archbishop.
Bemba has said he ”cannot accept the results” of the presidential election — in which incumbent Joseph Kabila beat the former rebel leader by 58,05% to 41,95% — and that he would challenge them legally.
”I hope very much that they will get to accept [the results] because most of the foreign observers declare that it was a free and fair election,” Tutu said.
The DRC capital, Kinshasa, a mostly pro-Bemba city in the west, was peaceful on Thursday.
Leaders of both sides called for calm after clashes near Bemba’s residence on November 11 claimed four lives. In August, at least 23 people were killed after first-round results came out.
Rich in resources but mired in poverty, the DRC has in recent months been holding its first democratic elections — to include presidential, local, and legislative polls — since independence from Belgium in 1961. — AFP