2023-07-21 18:10:43
KINSHASA – Since the announcement of the murder of the Honorable Chérubin Okende, public opinion has witnessed continual agitation by the party Ensemble pour la République. But this heinous assassination shocked all Congolese. This prompted the President of the Republic, Félix Tshisekedi to ask for the association of Belgium and South Africa with these investigations for more credibility. Only, it is surprising to note that the party of Moise Katumbi behaves like the only group of Congolese to be affected. Therefore, he gives the impression of wanting to place himself above the Republic, through his statements.
It is no secret that in its very first statement, the party Together for the Republic, ignoring the directives of the Head of State to the government, spoke of a political assassination by discrediting the current regime.
Some time later, its president Moise Katumbi, the day after his arrival in Kinshasa, followed the same logic. Then, he multiplied contacts with Western diplomats. Which is not bad because the President of the Republic during the 104th Council of Ministers had already asked for an international investigation to shed light on this despicable murder.
In addition, in a press release published on July 21, 2023, “Together for the Republic” is indignant at the communication of the Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, Firmin Mvode Mambu.
He accuses the latter of shamelessly violating the secrecy of the investigation for having communicated the first conclusions of the hearing of the first suspect arrested in this case, who is none other than the bodyguard of the Honorable Okende.
During this televised communication, he announced that the bullets which killed the former minister of transport are those of the weapon found in his vehicle, near the body.
For the party Together for the Republic, “Me Firmin Mvonde, is agitated and wants to serve the opinion a version far from the truth. But also, deploys cosmetic communication to confuse public opinion and cover up the assassins”.
The Congolese man is no longer fooled
Free assertions that take on an arrogant character, in our humble opinion. Obviously, this political party gives the impression of resolutely pursuing its agitation by considering only its own opinions, forgetting that the Congolese man is no longer fooled!
For some time now, in an audio that has gone viral, we hear the bodyguard of the late Chérubin Okende telling Peter Tiani, a pro-Katumbi journalist, that he had left his weapon in the Honorable’s vehicle. Then to affirm that the latter had told him that he was going to return home and had given him a sum of money.
There is therefore reason to wonder, why had he left his weapon in the vehicle knowing that the deputy was going to return home? Surveys will tell us more when the time comes.
In the same press release, Katumbi’s party declares that when our government appealed to independent international experts, our justice is divested of the file.
We believe that this decision highlights a combination of Congolese and foreign expertise. That the Congolese party proceeds to the hearing of the bodyguard of the illustrious disappeared does not in any way constitute a violation.
Was Congolese justice excluded from these investigations? Is it an oversight or a deliberate act on the part of this party to seek to ignore that this first suspect was arrested by Congolese justice? Shouldn’t Congolese justice be working on this case before the arrival of international experts? How does reporting to the Congolese resemble communication aimed at disorienting public opinion and covering up the assassins?
So many questions that lead us to wonder about the persistent agitation of the party of Moïse Katumbi, when we know that Chérubin Okende was a brave son of this country before being spokesperson for a political group. It’s an assassination is one more that shocks the Congolese, like those of M’zee LD Kabila, Floribert Chebeya, John Numbi and many others.
Superficial parallelism
Finally, the party dear to Moïse Katumbi to respond to the statements of two government ministers, Nicolas Kazadi and Patrick Muyaya, speaks of flagrant similarities between the assassination of Chérubin Okende and that of Floribert Chebeya:
“Invitation to the headquarters of a public institution, for one to the Police, for the other to the Constitutional Court, then disappearance and body found in a vehicle, dubious staging, with indisputable traces of assassinations…”
A superficial parallelism, in our opinion. Because Floribert Chebeya was a human rights defender and was summoned as part of his work. On the other hand, Chérubin Okende went to the Constitutional Court to declare his heritage, after his functions as ministers as provided for in the Congolese constitution.
In addition, in the first case, the former regime had not agreed to an international investigation, while the current regime lifted this option the day after the announcement of the assassination of the Honorable Okende.
Clearly, it is wise for the party Together for the Republic to be able to learn to keep silent and wait for the results of the multidisciplinary investigation with foreign countries requested by the government to track down the assassins and sponsors of this heinous and much lamented act. No party is above the Republic!
© CongoForum – Arnaud Kabeya, 20.07.23
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