Five days after the general elections in the DRC, the army has just established a major military presence in Lubumbashi, stronghold of Moïse Katumbi, the major challenger to outgoing President Félix Tshisekedi. Which worries more than one resident in the copper city. The administrative authorities, for their part, assure that the army is deployed to ensure security at the end of the year.
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With our correspondent in Lubumbashi, Denise Maheho
Since this Sunday, dozens of soldiers from the Republican Guard have been visible in several strategic locations in Lubumbashi. It is particularly in the heart of the city, at the post office square, at the RTNC and at the northern entrance to the city….Heavily armed, these soldiers crisscross certain avenues. What worries Gislain Kalwa, president of local civil society:
“ The reinforced presence of the military creates panic and raises questions. What is happening? Why deploy so many soldiers? Fear is gaining ground and this is creating panic“.
For his part, the mayor of the City, Martin Kazembe, wants to be reassuring. The population of Lubumbashi has nothing to fear:
“ They are our soldiers. They are there to ensure security. They fulfill their royal mission during these end-of-year celebrations. The population of Lubumbashi must go about their activities peacefully.“.
Other sources believe that this military system is being reinforced in order to block the path to any violent reaction on the part of Moïse Katumbi’s activists following the publication of the partial results of the presidential election.
While the army, in its press release this Sunday, accused the Nyota television channel, close to Katumbi, of broadcasting information tending to demoralize and destabilize the soldiers, this media formally rejected these accusations.
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