With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Patient Ligodi
The high expectations of the Congolese vis-à-vis Angola can be explained above all by their distrust vis-à-vis other countries, in particular certain member countries of the community of East African States, the EAC. At the presidency of the Republic, in the government, in Parliament, and even in the opposition, we are wary, for example, of Uganda, which some accuse of being in collusion with Rwanda.
In the entourage of Félix Tshisekedi, many recall the Rwandan-Ugandan aggression of 1998 and the support given by these two countries to the RCD rebellion and its various variations. There is also mistrust of the regional EAC force itself.
Last Wednesday, Christophe Mboso, the president of the National Assembly, openly decried this force whose troops “ give the impression of being on vacation in the theater of military operations and whose presence risks becoming unnecessarily onerous ».
Even in the opposition, many see Angola as a much more reliable ally than other countries. Some recall that it was thanks to SADC members including Zimbabwe, Namibia and above all Angola that Kinshasa had not fallen in 1998 into the hands of the RCD supported by Rwanda.
Moïse Katumbi, for example, considers the announcement of Angola’s involvement in observing the withdrawal of the M23 to be good news. According to him, this responds to the need to see a strategic and impartial partner to support the FARDC in their mission to restore peace and the integrity of the borders of the DRC.
Same story from Martin Fayulu. The opponent appreciates at fair value the expected dispatch of this unit of the Angolan army and salutes the leadership of President João Lourenço. He also encourages other SADC and ECCAS Heads of State to become more involved.
► Read and listen too “Direct contacts were made on February 28 with the M23”, says Angolan President João Lourenço
