Former DR Congo President Joseph Kabila has emerged from self-imposed exile to rally opposition leaders in Nairobi, Kenya, in an effort to “save” the country from what he calls the dictatorship of President Félix Tshisekedi. The two-day meeting brought together 12 opposition and civil society groups, including former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo. The coalition outlined a 14-point declaration denouncing arbitrary detentions and poor economic governance by Tshisekedi’s government. Kabila, recently sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes and treason, rejected the charges as “arbitrary” and called for daily civic actions to resist the government. The coalition also plans to launch a diplomatic campaign to alert the international community to DR Congo’s plight. However, the Congolese government swiftly dismissed the meeting as a gathering of “fugitives and convicts,” highlighting the deep and ongoing political rift that continues to destabilize the vast Central African nation.
BBC