Congolese former minister Chérubin Okende, a member of the opposition in parliament, was found dead in his car on Thursday. His murder puts a question mark over the possibility of democratic elections in December.
Found riddled with bullets in his car on one of the highways of the capital Kinshasa on Thursday morning, the body of Chérubin Okende will certainly haunt more than one political candidate.
Okende was an elected member of parliament for the party of Moise Katumbi, a leading opposition politician. Okende was due to contest the presidential election in December in the central African nation.
Katumbi told RFI that he believes the murder is "a political assassination" and an attempt to silence the opposition.
A prominent opposition leader, former deputy and minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chérubin Okende, who belonged to the party of presidential hopeful Moïse Katumbi, was shot dead Thursday in Kinshasa, his body covered with bullet wounds. pic.twitter.com/hEj0AlhLIc
— Daron Bartlett (@bartlettdaron) July 14, 2023
The death occurred in the middle of an important week in DRC's electoral process: those who want to participate in the parliamentary elections had until 15 July to register as candidates.
Trésor Kibangula, a Congolese political analyst at the Ebuteli think tank, told RFI that Okende's death creates an athmosphere of "hysteria" in the political life of the country.
"This type of public political assassination [has] been really rare in recent years", he said.
He added that what is even more worrying is the "shrinking" of the democratic space.
"Some demonstrations have been recently forbidden," Kibangula explained. "Politicians have been arrested, so, of course, some political actors are afraid. The country is [moving down] a dangerous path."
Tensions ahead of vote
The next general elections are set for 20 December. However, political tensions and major security issues in the East are already complicating the electoral process.
Opponent Martin Fayulu, who was a presidential candidate in the last election and still claims to have won the poll, told RFI, that in the absence of a reliable electoral file audited by a reputable independent body, he is unable to submit his application.
He refuses to whitewash what he descibes as "electoral fraud".
Fayulu has teamed up with fellow opposition figures Moise Katumbi, Matata Ponyo, and Delly Sesanga but they have not said whether they will boycott the current electoral process or not.
For Fayulu, the main worry lies in the voter registration process. It unfolded over three months across a population of some 44 million electors, in a country which is the size of western Europe.
He also denounced the absence of a transparent external audit.
Je suis choqué et atterré d'apprendre l'assassinat de Chérubin Okende, Porte-parole de Ensemble pour la République. Ce crime odieux, qui s’apparente à un assassinat politique, ne peut rester impuni. Sincères condoléances à sa famille biologique et au parti Ensemble. pic.twitter.com/3FHPrnle97
— Martin Fayulu (@MartinFayulu) July 13, 2023
Need for transparency
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), organising the vote, has so far managed to adhere to the very tight deadlines imposed on it.
The external audit of the electoral roll lasted just five days.
The electoral registration took place over less than three months, but couldn't happen in parts of the east, because of the insecurity created by armed groups like the M23 and the FDLR.
For analyst Trésor Kibangula, one of the big problems is that the level trust in the CENI is very low.
The opposition also hasn't done the necessary work to support the commission.
"The opposition is right to demand guarantees of transparency," Kibangula said, "but at the same time they have to start preparing for the vote, submit their candidates and perhaps even begin to unite to face the current majority."
