Katumbi guard sues DR Congo over detention
DR Congo opposition figure Moise Katumbi. His guard and advisor Darryl Lewis has sued two senior officials of President Joseph Kabila’s government in a US court PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The American was arrested during a political rally in the southeast DR Congo city of Lubumbashi in late April and taken to ANR headquarters for interrogation.
- Mr Lewis claims in the Pan African Magazine that he was subjected to extreme interrogation methods.
- He filed his complaint in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on July 29, seeking at least $4.5 million in damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991.
YAOUNDÉ, Wednesday
An American military veteran and security adviser to DR Congo’s opposition figure Moise Katumbi is demanding $4.5 million (Ksh454m) in damages from two Kinshasa officials for torture.
The French language Pan African Magazine reported that Mr Darryl Lewis had sued two senior officials of President Joseph Kabila’s government in a US court.
The defendants were identified as intelligence agency ANR boss Kalev Mutond and Justice minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba.
The American was arrested during a political rally in the southeast DR Congo city of Lubumbashi in late April and taken to ANR headquarters for interrogation.
He was accused of being a mercenary hired by Mr Katumbi.
Mr Lewis claims in the Pan African Magazine that he was subjected to extreme interrogation methods.
He filed his complaint in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on July 29, seeking at least $4.5 million in damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people rallied at the weekend urging President Kabila to step down.
Kabila, 45, has ruled the DRC, the world’s most prolific producer of cobalt, since 2001. He won elections in 2006 and 2011 and is barred from running again by the constitution, which requires him to call an election 90 days before the end, on December 19, of his second term.
Leaders in neighbouring nations such as the Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have changed their charters to allow their leaders to remain in office.
Mr Etienne Tshisekedi, an 83-year-old opposition leader, returned to the DRC on Wednesday last week for the first time in more than two years. Addressing crowds in the capital, Kinshasa, on Sunday he demanded that Kabila set a date for elections.
Kabila’s supporters have said that technical and financial constraints make it impossible to hold the vote on time and he has called for a political dialogue, which opposition leaders reject.
