DR Congo president's rival charged with hiring mercenaries

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition leader and potential presidential candidate, Moise Katumbi, has been charged with hiring foreign mercenaries, a government spokesman says.

Lambert Mende said in the capital Kinshasa on Thursday that an arrest warrant had been issued for Katumbi, who has been described in media reports as the “second most powerful man” in the country after incumbent President Joseph Kabila.

"The prosecutors have handed their ruling. He is no longer free and he can no longer do what he wants," the spokesman said, adding, "He can either be put under house arrest or be jailed."

Katumbi, the former governor of Katanga, a DR Congo's southern province, is accused of hiring several foreign mercenaries, notably Americans, as his private guards.

This came after DR Congo’s Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba earlier ordered the general prosecutor of the republic to launch an investigation into the alleged use of foreign mercenaries by the country's opposition leader.

The justice minister said seven former American soldiers and at least two South Africans had been staying in residences belonging to Katumbi “for reasons that the inquiry will clarify.”

Senior government officials say former American soldiers were being recruited by Katumbi via a “network with a company based in Virginia in the United States.”

At least four members of Katumbi's entourage including an American were arrested in Katanga on April 24, and transferred to the country’s capital, Kinshasa.

Katumbi, 51, joined the opposition in September last year after quitting as governor and leaving the party of President Kabila.

The opposition leader, who has also announced his run in the country's November presidential election, adamantly dismissed allegations against him over the use of mercenaries.

On Friday, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered in support of rich and powerful Katumbi in Lubumbashi, the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province and the second-largest city in the country. 

Several thousand supporters of Katumbi attended the demonstration outside a courthouse where dozens of lawyers had also arrived to give their backing to the opposition figure.  

Legal experts say if Katumbi is found guilty in a criminal case, he would be barred from standing for the presidency.

DR Congo has been struggling since President Joseph Kabila’s 2011 re-election, which is said to have been marked with voting irregularities. The country has been through two wars since Kabila came to power.

Political tensions are again high in the African country in the run-up to fresh elections later this year.

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