Kabila sworn in to new term as rival plans his own ceremony

INSHASA, Tuesday

Joseph Kabila was sworn in on Tuesday for another term as president of DR Congo, a job also claimed by his main rival following disputed polls that have plunged the country into deep crisis.

The 40-year-old incumbent was last week confirmed the winner by a Supreme Court the opposition says he packed with loyalists just before the Democratic Republic of Congo’s November 28 polls.

The ceremony took place in the so called African Union city close to the Tshatshi military camp and was attended by guests from the neighbouring Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was the only head of state who attended the function.

The ceremony came after results of a chaotic vote criticised by observers and rejected by opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, who has proclaimed himself the people’s president and is planning his own inauguration on Friday.

After taking the oath in front of a large crowd of supporters, Mr Kabila vowed to “safeguard national unity and allow himself to be guided only by the general interest and the respect of human rights”.

The 79-year-old Tshisekedi has stopped just short of calling mass protests and urged the security forces in Africa’s second largest country to defect and recognise him as the elected president.

The veteran opposition leader, a former prime minister under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, has no militia of his own but the announcement of the results earlier this month had triggered violence in the streets of Kinshasa.

Police were heavily deployed across the capital today, particularly in the eastern Limete district where Tshisekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UPDS) is headquartered.

Opposition protesters were dispersed with tear gas there on Monday and an AFP reporter saw several tanks from the Republican Guard stationed across the city.

In his inauguration speech, Kabila praised the Congolese for their “political maturity” since the start of the electoral process.

“You were given a choice between fanciful promises and inflammatory rhetoric on the one hand and the consolidation of peace and stability on the other hand,” he said.

Human Rights Watch reported three weeks ago that election-related violence in the giant central African country had claimed at least 18 lives.

The authorities have said five people were killed in the violent aftermath of the results announcement on December 9 but the opposition claims the toll is higher.

Kabila, who took over in 2001 after his father Laurent-Desire’s assassination, risks isolation on the international scene as a result of the election, which the West have condemned as fraudulent.

DR Congo’s Western trade partners were represented at a relatively low level at Kabila’s inauguration ceremony and the only head of state to attend was Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

The United States has said the elections — just the second in the DR Congo since back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2003 — were “seriously flawed”, and Belgium and France have also questioned their credibility.

Observers fear the vast mineral-rich country, which is two-thirds the size of Western Europe, could be headed for a crippling institutional crisis, or worse, for a flare-up of civil unrest.

Tshisekedi in a speech this weekend urged Congolese citizens “not only to retain their calm and serenity... but also to create the climate of confidence that investors are looking for”.

But he has also said he would give a “very large reward” to anyone bringing him Kabila “tied up”.

Kabila’s party spokesman Aubin Minaku brushed off the rhetoric. “Yet another joke,” he said, calling Tshisekedi a “bad loser”.

Joseph Kabila becomes the elected DRC president for the next five years while the opposition leaders are protesting against the way the election was organized.

Etienne Tshisekedi declared that he won the election and as such he is the real president of the republic. The veteran announced that he will be sworn in next Friday, Dec 23, 2011 as the new president of the republic.

Besides the political dispute, Kabila’s sworn in day was a big event. People did not go to work. Only shops and markets were open. The newly elected president promised to go on with his so called five pillars of the republic which comprise his political agenda.

“I am grateful with all of you trusted me by your massive votes. However, as the president of all the DRC people I respect the political position of those who did not vote for me. I remain open to work with anyone who love this country and wan its development”, he declared in his speech referring to people from the opposition.

According to the Electoral Commission, Joseph Kabila came first with 48.95 % followed by Etienne Tshisekedi with 36% of votes.

Foreign observers accused the Electoral Commission of manipulation of the results but never confirmed that Etienne Tshisekedi is the real winner. The Supreme Court confirmed the election results allegedly because there was no evidence of fraud or manipulation.

Etienne Tshisekedi did not want to protest against the election results allegedly because he did not trust the Supreme Court. As such, due to the lack of evidence of the alleged fraud, the Supreme Court declared Joseph Kabila as the winner of the election.

It remains that the city of Kinshasa and the entire country is strangely calm. Nobody can say what will happen in the coming days, especially on Friday as Etienne Tshisekedi plans to be sworn in.

According to UDPS his political party the ceremony will take place in the football stadium called “Stade des Martyrs) referring to the political leaders hanged by Marshall Mobutu at the same place in 1967.

Military and police forces have been deployed in the main streets and thanks have been placed at the main entrances of the stadium.

Etienne Tshisekedi called military forces to join him and arrest Joseph Kabila live. Everything can happen but people cross fingers that Tshisekedi will be prevented from leaving his house on Friday.