DRC opposition leader Fayulu demands probe after rally brutally dispersed
Congolese opposition leader Martin Fayulu has demanded an investigation after security forces brutally dispersed a rally he called over election reforms.
Police fired in the air in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo capital on Wednesday to disperse Fayulu’s supporters, injuring some in the process.
“We had more than 30 arrests, more than 20 injured. Now we are told that everyone has been released, we still have two or three people we are looking for in Kinshasa. But what is serious is that I was brutalized, I was touched, I was molested and I was insulted like rotten fish,” said Fayulu.
Fayulu lost to Felix Tshisekedi in the 2018 election that many many observers say was rigged.
He’s accused Tshisekedi of seeking to undermine the election commission’s independence ahead of the 2023 vote.
In June, the national assembly which is dominated by Tshisekedi’s loyalists passed an amendment that was touted by the government as critical to strengthen the independence of the commission.
Fayulu has maintained that Tshisekedi, who came to power after a shock alliance with former President Joseph Kabila, is an illegitimate president.
By Serge Mankou
