Small arms fire rang out early Wednesday in Kinshasa near the residence of former President Joseph Kabila as gunmen attempted to enter the property.
“They were supposedly sent to come and physically eliminate me… We will resist,” declared Olive Lembe Kabila, the wife of the former head of state, during a press conference in Kinshasa.
According to Olive Lembe Kabila, a group of attackers tried to force the gate of the residence, armed with Molotov cocktails and with violent intentions. “I don’t know if there were many of them, but there were images taken during the attacks,” she added. “They wanted to throw Molotov cocktails to burn the vehicles that are here.”
The incidents occurred after what Ms. Kabila described as a breach of the security perimeter of the former president’s residence. “All this is the consequence of the breach of the security perimeter of the residence of former President Joseph Kabila,” she said. “We will resist. We are in our country. We were born here in Congo. We grew up and studied here.”
Ms. Kabila also appealed to the current President of the Republic and former Minister of Defense Jean-Pierre Bemba, whom she accuses of being behind the destruction of the security perimeter. “I appeal to the current President of the Republic, former Minister of Defense Jean-Pierre Bemba, who are allegedly behind the destruction of the security perimeter of Joseph Kabila’s residence,” she said.
“I ask God: all those who want to harm my husband, my family, my people, in your justice, take care of them,” she added, visibly moved. “Joseph Kabila may have done wrong to value some who did not even know how to wear a jacket. I am upset and shocked.”
Family members confirmed that police officers stationed at the residence used their weapons to deter the attackers. “The forces of progress want to force entry into GLM while former first lady Olive Lembe Kabila was there, which justifies the shots heard in Gombe,” said Adam Shemishi, Olive Lembe Kabila’s communications advisor.
An eyewitness claimed to have seen a youth movement on Colonel Tshashi Boulevard. “I was at the ESU general secretariat, I saw a group of young people crossing Tshatshi Boulevard towards Fleuve Congo Hotel,” reported a young civil servant.
The Force du progrès, a group identified as a militia that hunts down dissenting voices in power, has been singled out. Its members were seen armed with machetes and sticks during an opposition march on May 20, 2023. In June, the Congolese episcopate denounced “a militia, visibly maintained, which sometimes collaborates with the police to hunt down political opponents and other peaceful citizens who are critical of the country’s current governance.”
/actualité.cd
2024-07-31 19:54:26
#Olive #Lembe #supposedly #physically #eliminate #me.. #resist
