<p><span class="articleLocation">Gus Trompiz | PARIS</span></p>
<p>The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported three outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5 bird flu among poultry in the northeastern province of Ituri, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>The virus was detected among ducks and hens in three villages near the border with Uganda, the OIE said, citing a report from the Congolese agriculture ministry.</p>
<p>The H5N8 strain of bird flu was present in Uganda, the OIE added, without specifying what type of H5 bird flu had been detected in Congo.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bate Felix)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Congo reports outbreaks of severe bird flu in Ituri: OIE

<p><span class="articleLocation">Philon Bondenga | BRAZZAVILLE</span></p>
<p>Congo Republic inaugurated a $109 million hydroelectric dam constructed by China Gezhouba Group Co Ltd on Monday, in a boost to the oil-producing country&#8217;s agriculture and forestry sectors, the government said.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>The 19.9 megawatt (MW) dam in the northern town of Liouesso brings Congo&#8217;s hydroelectric production to 214 MW, nearly half of total national power output. The country produced just 89 MW in 2000, according to the government.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Liouesso dam will give great productive capacity to the businesses installed in the region,&#8221; President Denis Sassou Nguesso said at the inauguration ceremony, though his infrastructure minister noted the government had yet to find buyers for three-quarters of the dam&#8217;s output.</p>
<p>Oil accounts for around 65 percent of GDP in the central African nation, Africa&#8217;s fourth-largest crude producer, but it is aiming to diversify its economy by increasing investments in infrastructure as well as in the mining and forestry sectors.</p>
<p>(Reporting By Philon Bondenga; Writing by Aaron Ross, editing by David Evans)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Congo Republic inaugurates $109 million hydroelectric dam

<p>Conventional wisdom tells us that good political societies are built on the principles of constitutionalism. This entails upholding the <a href="http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9781405136532_chunk_g978140513653223">rule of law</a> and <a href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/vile-constitutionalism-and-the-separation-of-powers">separation of powers</a>. This is to ensure an <a href="http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-94-007-0753-5_3064">even distribution of power</a> where a society is “<a href="https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/administrative-law/constitutionalism-good-governance-a-dangerous-law-essays.php">built on principles of law, not men</a>”.</p>
<p>In the 1990s many African states <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/265493847_Constitutional_Reforms_and_Constitutionalism_in_Africa_Reflections_on_Some_Current_Challenges_and_Future_Prospects">reinvented their constitutions</a> to build good political societies. They moved away from one-party authoritarian states to embrace a constitutional political order and representative democracy. They also enacted two-term presidential limits. This was, as Charles Fombad <a href="http://www.buffalolawreview.org/past_issues/59_4/Fombad.pdf">tells us</a></p>
<p><em>a clear recognition of the need for radical changes … In some cases, it meant a total break with a dreadful past … but in most cases it meant recognising that a constitutional framework built around the one party system that had bred authoritarian and dictatorial rule was a recipe for political instability and economic decline.</em></p>
<p>But the limitations on presidential terms have not entirely quashed a culture of entitlement to rule. Glimpses of this culture persist.</p>
<p>This is evident in what is now referred to as the “<a href="http://presidential-power.com/?p=4874">third term tragedy</a>” or the “<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/09/16/heres-how-african-leaders-stage-constitutional-coups-they-tweak-the-constitution-to-stay-in-power/">constitutional coup</a>”. This is when African presidents extend their tenure in office, effectively becoming “president for life”, changing constitutions to do so. Increasingly, this is met with civic resistance.</p>
<p>Burundi, Rwanda, the Congo and Burkina Faso are examples of where this has happened.</p>
<p><strong>Roots of constitutionalism</strong></p>
<p>Constitutionalism found its roots in <a href="http://www.sophia-project.org/uploads/1/3/9/5/13955288/elahi_socialcontract.pdf">social contract theory</a>, which was penned by <a href="http://fee.org/articles/john-locke-natural-rights-to-life-liberty-and-property/">John Locke</a> among others.</p>
<p>The basic argument is that humans have inalienable and natural rights to life, freedom and estate. And for us to exercise these rights, we create a political society of consent where constitutional principles reign supreme. Thus, as <a href="http://www.sophia-project.org/uploads/1/3/9/5/13955288/elahi_socialcontract.pdf">Manzoor Elahi</a> reminds us:</p>
<p><em>According to Locke, the purpose of the government and law is to uphold and protect the natural rights of men. So long as the government fulfils this purpose, the laws given by it are valid and binding, but when it ceases to fulfil it, then the laws would not have validity and the government can be thrown out of power.</em></p>
<p>This interpretation of the purpose of government also informs the <a href="http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/good-governance.pdf">principles of good governance</a>. These are transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation, responsiveness, and respecting the rule of law. The social contract between those who govern and those who are governed is founded on this <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/GoodGovernance/Pages/GoodGovernanceIndex.aspx">rights-based approach</a> to governance. This means that leaders govern at the pleasure of the people, and do not rule with sovereign license at the cost of constitutional rules. The well-being and rights of the people must be the central concern of those who govern.</p>
<p>Good governance entails playing by the rules. It requires accepting <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/gambia-jammeh-rejects-result-presidential-election-161210034606068">electoral defeat</a> if the people willed it so.</p>
<p><strong>Cases of constitutional coups</strong></p>
<p>There have been some classic examples of “constitutional coups” in recent years. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.africanleadershipcentre.org/index.php/2014-10-22-15-44-06/alc-newsletters/sept2015-issue/385-the-new-assault-on-presidential-term-limits-in-africa-focus-on-burundi">Burundi</a>, where President Pierre Nkurunziza’s machinations for a third term in 2015 led to political instability and a <a href="http://europe.newsweek.com/burundi-army-chief-says-coup-attempt-failed-327288">failed military coup</a>. He subsequently emerged victorious in an election marred by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/24/burundi-pierre-nkurunziza-wins-third-term-disputed-election">violence and intimidation</a> in 2015.</li>
<li>Congo: In 2015, President Denis Sassou Nguesso claimed that the people <a href="http://www.voanews.com/a/congo-brazzaville-opposition-to-protest-president-third-term-bid/2976658.html">wanted him</a> to extend his 32-year stay in power and announced a referendum to change the constitution to allow him to contest the election. This was met with mass protest, with people proclaiming that the “<a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN0RS0LK20150928">Congo does not belong to Nguesso</a>”. In 2016 he won <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/03/congo-president-denis-sassou-nguesso-wins-election-160324040212900.html">at the polls</a> amid tight security measures and a communications black out.</li>
<li><a href="http://mg.co.za/article/2014-11-03-an-undignified-exit-the-fall-of-burkina-fasos-compaore">Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré</a> was forced to flee following widespread protests against his bid to extend his 27-year rule in 2014.</li>
<li>Rwanda’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/01/rwanda-paul-kagame-third-term-office-constitutional-changes">President Paul Kagame</a> will run for a third term this year. This after the constitutional was amended to allow him another term, following a referendum to that effect. He may be in power until <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/20/rwanda-vote-gives-president-paul-kagame-extended-powers">2034</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>In 2015 West African states took a progressive step with a proposal to ban “constitutional coups” by limiting presidents to only two terms. But the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32808685">idea was abandoned</a> as some states in the region did not support it. This happened despite the fact that research shows Africa’s citizens largely <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/sites/default/files/publications/Dispatches/ab_r6_dispatchno30.pdf">support limiting presidential terms</a>.</p>
<p>The African Union (AU) committed to a <a href="http://theconversation.com/why-zumas-african-way-is-at-odds-with-the-african-unions-vision-57589">democratic social contract</a> with <a href="http://archive.au.int/assets/images/agenda2063.pdf">Agenda 2063</a>. There is a formal promise to abide by the will of the people and to respect the rule of law. The problem rather, as <a href="http://www.buffalolawreview.org/past_issues/59_4/Fombad.pdf">Charles Fombad concludes</a>, is that</p>
<p><em>In many countries, the problems were not caused by the absence of constitutions. Rather it was the ease with which African leaders had rendered constitutions dysfunctional by regularly ignoring their provisions or amending them when it suited their convenience.</em></p>
<p>Some highlight the lack of effective opposition in Africa. But the problem also relates to views about governance and the rules. It seems the rules are made to the broken.</p>
<p>The AU has to be commended for taking a firm stance against regime change through <a href="https://www.files/ethz.ch/isn/105906/P197.pdf">military coup</a>. It has suspended countries for “<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/african-union-suspends-burkina-faso-military-coup-150919073352770.html">unconstitutional regime change</a>”. But it has not been as effective in its opposition to dealing with the problem of extended presidential terms. This could be due to the <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-briefings/presidential-term-limits-a-new-african-foreign-policy-challenge">sovereignty principle</a>, which makes African states reluctant to interfere in others’ affairs.</p>
<p>But the problem of leaders clinging to power is only one manifestation of a lack of respect for constitutional rules in Africa. Others include the fact that opposition political parties are often <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/02/10/rwanda-end-attacks-opposition-parties">harassed</a> and their leaders <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-uganda-opposition-leader-under-house-arrest-amid-tensions-2016-2">locked up</a>. They are also painted as illegitimate proxies for harmful <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-10-06-icg-confrontation-in-zimbabwe-turns-increasingly-violent/#.WIia6rF7GqA">foreign “third forces”</a> seeking regime change.</p>
<p><strong>Gambia shows democracy advancing, but…</strong></p>
<p>Many have applauded the Economic Community of West Africa <a href="http://www.ecowas.int/">(Ecowas)</a> for the role it played ensuring a peaceful transition after the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38271480">Gambian election</a>.</p>
<p>After President Yahya Jammeh rejected his loss, citing “<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/gambia-jammeh-rejects-result-presidential-election-161210034606068">foreign interference</a>”, it looked like a replay of a now all-too-familiar script, wherein a leader clings on to power against the popular will.</p>
<p>But regional leaders had other ideas. With a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/gambia-yahya-jammeh-final-deadline-step-170120044922953.html">not-so gentle push</a> from them, Jammeh eventually <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/jammeh-arrives-banjul-airport-stepping-170121210246506.html">accepted the electoral outcome</a> and vacated the plush presidential chair.</p>
<p>Yes, we may see the Gambian story as an <a href="http://europe.newsweek.com/gambia-election-result-sign-democracy-advancing-africa-528532?rm=eu">advancement for democracy</a> in Africa. And yes, there are many lessons the Southern African Development Community (SADC) can learn from Ecowas in <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-southern-africa-can-learn-from-west-africa-about-dealing-with-despots-71722">dealing decisively with despots</a>.</p>
<p>But the temporary Gambian crisis also points to a deeper governance problem in Africa: leadership attitudes towards “governance”. Many African leaders have yet to appreciate that constitutional rules matter. And while military coups are increasingly “<a href="http://newafricanmagazine.com/why-are-military-coups-going-out-of-fashion-in-africa">out of fashion</a>”, people on the continent need to pay attention to the “softer” methods used to entrench the “president-for-life syndrome” which threaten the continent’s democratic gains.</p>
<p>More importantly, given a commitment to good governance through <a href="http://au.int/en2/agenda2063">Agenda 2063</a>, African leaders must do more than show respect for the rules. They must also realise that they need to govern – not rule – at the pleasure of the people.</p>
<p>This would speak to building a culture of accountability and good governance through a change in mindset – instead of seeing their job as ruling the people leaders would see their role as governing the people. It would also entail vacating political office when your time is up.</p>


Africa faces a new threat to democracy: the ‘constitutional coup’

<p>Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila pledged on Wednesday to restore order to the country&#8217;s restive Kasai region, where a worsening insurgency poses the most serious threat to his 16-year rule.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Kabila&#8217;s failure to step down when his two-term mandate expired in December has further destabilised the loosely governed central African giant. Millions died in regional wars from 1996-2003 and dozens of armed groups still operate.</p>
<p>The Kamuina Nsapu insurrection erupted Kasai-Central province last August as a dispute over a customary chieftancy but has since spread to four other provinces, killing hundreds while taking on an increasingly political tone.</p>
<p>In a rare address to parliament, Kabila said he had designated Kasai an &#8220;operational sector&#8221; and called on militia members to lay down their arms.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Confronted with these unacceptable atrocities committed against innocent victims &#8230; we can no longer defer our responsibility to re-establish state authority in this part of the country by all possible legal means,&#8221; Kabila said.</p></blockquote>
<p>The United Nations has accused both government forces and militia fighters of rights abuses and said it has credible reports that the army has carried out summary executions against suspected militants.</p>
<p>The government denies that its forces employ excessive force but has charged seven soldiers with crimes including for murder and mutilation in connection with a video that appears to show troops massacring suspected militia members.</p>
<p>The U.N. mission in Congo warned in a statement on Wednesday that an intensified military response &#8220;will only exacerbate the violence and further place the civilian population in danger&#8221;.</p>
<p>The mission also said this week that it has confirmed the presence of 23 mass grave sites in the region.</p>
<p>Under a deal struck with the opposition in December, Kabila can stay in office until after an election required to be held by the end of this year.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>However, negotiations to implement the accord collapsed last week amid a disagreement over the procedure for nominating a new prime minister from the main opposition bloc.</p>
<p>Kabila said in his speech that if the impasse persisted, he would go ahead and name a prime minister in the next 48 hours, a move fiercely opposed by opposition leadership.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Aaron Ross; Editing by Joe Bavier and Alison Williams)</p>


Congo’s President Kabila promises to restore security to restive centre

<p>A court in Congo Republic on Tuesday threw out a challenge to opposition leader Paulin Makaya&#8217;s prison sentence for his role in protests against a third term for President Denis Sassou Nguesso.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>Makaya was sentenced to two years in jail last July on four counts including &#8220;incitement to disturb public order&#8221; during a demonstration in October 2015, when thousands of people took to the streets to protest against a referendum on a third term for Sassou Nguesso.</p>
<p>He has repeatedly denied the charges.</p>
<p>Sassou Nguesso has ruled Congo for all but five years since 1979, and was re-elected in March 2016 after the referendum passed.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have the possibility of appealing to the court of cassation within two to three days,&#8221; his lawyer Yvon Éric Ibouanga told journalists in Brazzaville, after Makaya&#8217;s defeat in the appeals court.</p>
<p>&#8220;We continue to believe that we can one day obtain a decision grounded in the law.&#8221;</p>
<p>Four people were killed at the march in October 2015 when security forces opened fire on a crowd that had refused to disperse. Residents said the violence was the worst since Sassou Nguesso retook power in 1997 at the end of a brief civil war.</p>
<p>Makaya was also charged a 2.5 million CFA franc ($4,086.30) fine. He is not the only opposition figure to face Congo&#8217;s justice system.</p>
<p>Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, the former army chief and a power broker in the former French colony&#8217;s 1990s civil war, is on trial for allegedly violating state security and illegally possessing weapons of war. He was denied bail in August.</p>
<p>Mokoko finished third to Sassou Nguesso in the 2016 election criticised by opposition parties and foreign powers for irregularities.<span id="midArticle_byline"></span></p>
<p>($1 = 611.8000 CFA francs)</p>
<p>(Reporting by Philon Bondenga and Bouka Roch; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Richard Lough)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Congo Republic opposition leader’s appeal against jail term fails

<p>Democratic Republic of Congo must investigate credible reports of atrocities including summary executions by the armed forces, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra&#8217;ad al Hussein said on Monday.</p>
<p>The U.N. human rights office has documented the killings of more than 280 people since July 2016 in a flare-up in violence in Kasai Central province, where Congolese forces have been battling an uprising by the Kamuina Nsapu militia.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are multiple, credible allegations of massive human rights violations in Kasai, Kasai Central, Kasai Oriental and Lomami provinces, amid a sharp deterioration in security situation there, including people being targeted by soldiers for their alleged affiliation with a local militia,” Zeid said in a statement.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is time to stop a blunt military response that does nothing to tackle the root causes of the conflict between the government and local militias but instead targets civilians on the basis of their presumed links to the militias,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The U.N. statement followed the emergence of a video at the weekend that appeared to show Congolese troops shooting dead members of the militia in the province.</p>
<p>The U.N. said its peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, was not in a position to verify the origin or authenticity of the video, which showed unarmed victims being shot at point blank range as they lay bleeding on the ground.</p>
<p>After initially promising an investigation, the government has dismissed the video as a &#8220;montage&#8221; created by political opponents based in Brussels.</p>
<p>On Monday, government spokesman Lambert Mende said it was up to foreign countries accusing the army of having committed exactions to prove their cases.</p>
<p>&#8220;The government calls on its partners to cease promoting condescending and/or deliberately malicious attitudes toward the institutions of DRC that work to consolidate the rule of law,&#8221; Mende said.</p>
<p>The United States, France and the European Union all called for an investigation on Monday, and Zeid added his voice, saying the government must launch an independent and transparent probe and hold those responsible to account.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Reporting by Tom Miles and Aaron Ross; editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Toby Chopra)﻿</p>
<div></div>
<p> </p>


DRC must investigate credible reports of atrocities – UN

<p>Etienne Tshisekedi, who has been a fixture in politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the days when it was called the Belgian Congo, has died. Mr Tshisekedi passed away on Wednesday, February 1, in Brussels, a day after travelling there from Kinshasa for treatment for an unspecified illness.</p>
<p>The cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. He was 84.</p>
<p>On news of his death dozens of Congolese expatriates in Brussels came to pay their respects in front of the hospital where he died, and in Kinshasa mourners gathered in front of his house in Limete neighbourhood.</p>
<p>Unsympathetic police dispersed the mourners with tear gas, but later in the evening Communications Minister Lambert Mende struck a more graceful tone, presenting his condolences to the family of the deceased, honouring the role he had played in his country, and promising an official funeral.</p>
<p>Mr Tshisekedi’s health had been known to be poor – he spent two years in Brussels receiving treatment for his condition before he returned home in July 2016 to play a leading role in the political opposition to President Joseph Kabila.</p>
<p>The role he played in Congolese politics is huge: the first Congolese to obtain a doctorate in law, in 1961; he advised the legendary Patrice Lumumba after independence, but then joined Kasai secessionists and took part in Joseph Mobutu’s coup in 1965.</p>
<p>He served in Mobutu’s early cabinets until the early 1980s, when the consequences of Mobutu’s kleptocratic rule had become disastrous. That is when he formed the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) to challenge Mobutu’s party, for which he was jailed several times in the 1980s.</p>
<p>In the 1990s Mobutu named him prime minister as part of power-sharing efforts to keep favour with the West, but kept him away from real power.</p>
<p>When Laurent Kabila overthrew Mobutu in 1997, he banned Mr Tshisekedi from politics, and he remained in the political cold for the next 14 years; he boycotted the 2006 election and only returned to active politics in 2011 to challenge Joseph Kabila in the presidential race.</p>
<p>He lost that election, which was obviously rigged.</p>
<p>His supporters saw him as the real winner, and continued to address him as ‘President Tshisekedi’. He was kept under house arrest after the election. He refused to let the UDPS participate in politics, something that resulted in a split in the party when some of its more opportunistic members made peace with Mr Kabila in exchange for lucrative parliamentary seats.</p>
<p>He went to Belgium in 2014 for medical treatment but continued to comment on political affairs, and when he returned home last year he immediately became the effective opposition leader, and mass actions he called forced concessions out of Mr Kabila.</p>
<p>Now his passing means that the status of these concessions has become more uncertain.</p>
<p>The deal signed on December 31 stated that a prime minister and head of a Transition Council would be chosen from the opposition and that elections would be held before the end of 2017.</p>
<p>Since then, however, Mr Kabila has dragged his feet on naming anyone at all, and we think his plan is to get out of having elections this year, just like he managed to avoid holding them in December 2016 as he had been constitutionally obliged to.</p>
<p>The opposition had problems of its own agreeing on who to put forward as prime minister, or even on whether they should present more than one name to Mr Kabila for him to pick from.</p>
<p>Many in the opposition thought that Mr Tshisekedi should head the Transition Council, but at the same time his son Felix was being put forward as a probable prime minister, and it looked untenable for one family to hold both offices.</p>
<p>Moise Katumbi, who will challenge Mr Kabila in the presidential race when it is held, does not look keen to get involved in the transition or even to come home – he is in exile, facing arrest on his return, and his status is something that the transition authorities are supposed to negotiate with the government.</p>
<p>Mr Tshisekedi’s passing is certainly a serious blow for the UDPS – Felix Tshisekedi has never had his father’s gravitas or political capital and will struggle to keep the party together.</p>
<p>He may even struggle to retain former allies’ support for his bid to become prime minister.</p>
<p>The same is true of the broader opposition: no one in the opposition has the late Mr Tshisekedi’s stature. It is unlikely anyone now can call for mass action that poses the risk of becoming destabilising, so we do not foresee serious unrest in the next few weeks (some localised action can be expected at his funeral, though).</p>
<p>In the medium term the situation remains unchanged: Mr Kabila is playing for time, and at some point the opposition will become more forceful.</p>
<p>Mr Tshisekedi’s death may have pushed that point back, but we still think it will arrive.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Obituary: Etienne Tshisekedi played a huge role in Congolese politics

<p>Congo&#8217;s main opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, one of the country&#8217;s most important advocates of democracy, has died in Brussels aged 84, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Tshisekedi stood up to dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who for decades ruled the country, then known as Zaire, before being overthrown by Rwanda, Uganda and other forces. He was also the most prominent civilian opponent of Laurent Kabila, who took power in 1997, and his son, President Joseph Kabila, who has ruled since 2001.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Congo's main opposition leader dies says diplomatic sources

<p>Two military helicopters crashed in a strife-torn part of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with at least four crew members on board, authorities said on Monday.</p>
<p>Government spokesman Lambert Mende told Reuters it was not clear what brought down the helicopters on Friday in North Kivu province near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda.﻿</p>
<p>Over the weekend, U.N.-sponsored Radio Okapi cited military sources as saying that the helicopters crashed while pursuing fighters from the former Congolese rebel group M23. An army spokesman declined to comment.</p>
<p>The M23 was the largest of dozens of armed groups in the country and controlled huge swaths of eastern Congo in 2012 and 2013 before it was defeated by Congolese and U.N. forces.</p>
<p>Reports of a possible M23 revival by former fighters held in camps in Uganda and Rwanda have surged in recent weeks. On Monday, Rwanda&#8217;s defence ministry said in a statement that a group of about 30 unarmed people claiming to be M23 and fleeing combat with Congo&#8217;s army crossed the border at the weekend.</p>
<p>Mende said he had not yet seen the statement.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Uganda&#8217;s government said it had detained more than 100 former M23 rebels trying to return to Congo from camps in Uganda where they have been awaiting amnesties. Congo said the fighters had encroached onto Congolese territory.</p>
<p>Radio Okapi also reported that five crew members &#8211; three Russians and two Congolese officers &#8211; were rescued and brought to hospital. Mende said he could not confirm that information.</p>
<p>Millions died in regional conflicts in eastern Congo between 1996-2003, most from hunger and disease, and dozens of armed groups continue to fight over natural resources and prey on the civilian population.﻿</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>


Military helicopters crash in eastern Congo

<p>At least two dozen people, most of them women, have been killed over the past week in ethnic violence between Bantus and Pygmies in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a U.N. human rights official said on Monday.</p>
<p>The Luba, a Bantu ethnic group, and the Twa, a Pygmy people who inhabit Central Africa&#8217;s Great Lakes region, have been in conflict since May 2013 in Congo&#8217;s Katanga region, known for its rich deposits of copper and other metals. </p>
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<p>Clashes have been fuelled by social tensions between Bantu villagers and the Twa, a hunting and gathering people who have long been denied access to land and basic services. Attacks by militiamen from both groups have left hundreds dead.</p>
<p>José Maria Aranaz, head of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), said that at least 24 people, including 19 women, have been killed in Moba, a town located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, since Jan. 11.</p>
<p>&#8220;A particularly worrying pattern we have documented is the way in which women have been targeted, both generally in the violence but also with sexual violence,&#8221; Aranaz told Reuters.</p>
<p>The UNJHRO has documented at least 158 deaths, 205 injuries and 50 rapes resulting from the ethnic violence since last July.</p>
<p>Nearly 200,000 people were forced to flee clashes during the same period, said Yvon Endoumou, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


At least two dozen dead in ethnic clashes in southeastern Congo

<p>Talks to ease Congo President Joseph Kabila out of power next year and quell protests over him overstaying his mandate are hanging by a thread, an opposition leader said ahead of the resumption of the negotiations on Friday.</p>
<p>Only last week the sides appeared near a historic deal that could have paved the way for the first peaceful transfer of power through a democratic election since the country gained independence in 1960.</p>
<p>However, the talks hit a stumbling block over whether a new prime minister for Democratic Republic of Congo will come from the main opposition bloc and on the composition of the electoral commission, which the opposition accuses of pro-government bias.</p>
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<p>&#8220;At this stage, we are closer to a rupture than to a solution,&#8221; opposition leader Félix Tshisekedi said in a tweet. Other parties and mediators made no comment.</p>
<p>The talks between the ruling coalition and opposition parties organised by the Catholic church are set to resume for a make-or-break day at the headquarters of the conference of Catholic bishops in the capital Kinshasa.</p>
<p>Delegates said bishops acting as mediators met Kabila and veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi on Thursday.</p>
<p>Under the deal, Kabila would agree not to attempt to change the constitution to participate in elections to be held next year. His two-term mandate ended on Dec. 19 but authorities have effectively extended it until 2018.</p>
<p>That would have represented a significant turnaround given that security forces killed around 40 people last week for protesting the tenure of a leader who came to power in 2001 when his father Laurent was assassinated.</p>
<p>The opposition also wants authorities to drop charges against some of its leaders, arguing that the prosecutions are political.</p>
<p>A political deal could boost pro-democracy activists in other countries, given Congo&#8217;s size and sway on the continent.</p>
<p>But if the talks break down it could lead to more violent demonstrations. Police spokesman Colonel Pierre Mwanamputu said security was being stepped up for the New Year celebrations and to guard against unrest.</p>
<p>Millions died of starvation and disease in a war in Congo between 1996 and 2003 that sucked in a host of other African nations.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Congo opposition leader says talks on political deal faltering

<p>A court in Democratic Republic of Congo sentenced a political opposition leader to five years in prison on Wednesday, a human rights advocate said, a judgment that risks imperiling multi-party talks meant to organise a presidential election next year.</p>
<p>The court found Franck Diongo, president of the opposition MLP party, guilty of illegally detaining three soldiers during violent protests last week in the capital Kinshasa that killed dozens, said Georges Kapiamba, a lawyer and human rights advocate who attended the trial.</p>
<p>Kapiamba told Reuters that Diongo was not able to defend himself because of failing health and called the decision &#8220;totally political&#8221;. The government has denied that the prosecution is politically motivated.</p>
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<p>The verdict comes as representatives of President Joseph Kabila&#8217;s ruling coalition and the country&#8217;s main opposition bloc say they are near an accord under which Kabila would step down by the end of 2017 after an election to choose his successor.</p>
<p>The election was meant to take place last month but the government postponed it until at least April 2018, citing delays registering millions of voters. The opposition accuses Kabila of trying to cling to power &#8211; a charge he denies.</p>
<p>Dozens of opposition politicians and anti-Kabila activists have been arrested in the past year on what rights groups say are politically motivated charges and the opposition has called for some of those charges to be dropped as a show of good faith.</p>
<p>Earlier in the day, Felix Tshisekedi, the leader of the opposition delegation at the talks, said negotiations could break down over prosecutions against Diongo and other opposition leaders.</p>
<p>&#8220;We go from one provocation to the next,&#8221; Tshisekedi said in an interview broadcast on local news site actualite.cd. &#8220;If this continues, we won&#8217;t be able to sign an accord.&#8221;</p>
<p>Other hold-ups in the negotiations include the main opposition bloc&#8217;s insistence that one of its members be named prime minister and that the country&#8217;s electoral commission be reconstituted.</p>
<p>Congo&#8217;s Catholic bishops conference, which is mediating the talks, has said it hopes a deal will be signed on Friday. Western and African powers fear failure to reach a compromise could lead to a repeat of the wars between 1996 and 2003 in eastern Congo that killed millions, most from hunger and disease.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Congo opposition leader sentenced to five years in prison

<p>Gunfire could be heard in several districts of Kinshasa early on Tuesday as demonstrators demanded that President Joseph Kabila step down after his mandate expired at midnight, and measures to curb dissent fanned fears of more violence.</p>
<p>Reuters witnesses in various parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo&#8217;s capital city heard repeated gunshots, and one saw youths burning tires in the street. Protesters also set off fireworks and cheered, a Reuters witness said.</p>
<p>Demonstrators in the districts of Kalamu, Matete and Lingwala as well as at Kinshasa University blew whistles to signal to Kabila that it was time to leave. Students at the university also burned tires, multiple witnesses said.</p>
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<p>Kabila faces potentially one of his biggest challenges since he took power after his father was assassinated in 2001. Critics accuse him of clinging to power by letting his term run out with no election to name his successor expected until 2018.</p>
<p>Kabila has rarely spoken about the issue in public, but his allies say the election was delayed because of logistical and financial problems. The constitutional court has ruled that Kabila can stay on until the election takes place.</p>
<p>Some opposition leaders agreed Kabila can remain in office. But opponents, especially in Kinshasa, a city of 12 million, are not buying it. Diplomats have urged Kabila to step down to avoid triggering a massive crisis and possibly another civil war.</p>
<p>In what appeared to be an attempt at soothing opposition grievances, Kabila&#8217;s administration announced on state TV an expansion of the government by 17 ministerial posts to 65, many of them reserved for opposition members.</p>
<p>The main opposition coalition, which refused to accept the deal enabling Kabila to stay on, is unlikely to be appeased.</p>
<p>Scores of protesters have been arrested in the past 24 hours, mostly in the eastern city of Goma, according to human rights groups.</p>
<p>Authorities have blocked most social media and outlawed protests in Kinshasa. Those measures have raised fears of more violence in a nation that has suffered near constant war and instability in the two decades since the fall of kleptocrat Mobutu Sese Seko.</p>
<p>Western powers are nervous of a repeat of the conflicts between 1996 to 2003 that killed millions, drew in half a dozen neighboring armies and saw rebel fighters rape women en masse.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Tim Cocks and Aaron Ross; Additional reporting by Amedee Mwarabu in Kinshasa; Editing by G Crosse and Leslie Adler)﻿</p>


Gun shots fired in Kinshasa as Kabila clings to power

<div id="article-byline">KINSHASA &#8211; Protests erupted in several neighborhoods of the Congolese capital Kinshasa late on Monday and police fired tear gas to disperse them, witnesses said, just before President Joseph Kabila&#8217;s mandate expires at midnight.</div>
<p>Demonstrators in the districts of Kalamu, Matete and Lingwala and at Kinshasa University blew whistles to signal to Kabila that it was time to leave, and students at the university burned tires, multiple witnesses said.</p>
<p>Hundreds of anti-Kabila demonstrators earlier defied a ban on marches against the president&#8217;s plans to stay in office past the end of his term, and security forces faced off against groups waving red cards saying &#8220;Bye, bye Kabila.&#8221;</p>
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<p>Opposition activists have accused Kabila of trying to cling to power by letting his term run out without an election to chose the next leader of Congo, which has not witnessed a peaceful change of power since independence in 1960.</p>
<p>&#8220;Kabila&#8217;s mandate finishes at 1159. &#8230; Tomorrow (Tuesday) it will be chaos,&#8221; said Hugue Ilunga, 21, as dozens of soldiers deployed nearby in the capital, an opposition stronghold of 12 million people.</p>
<p>Shops shut in other parts of Kinshasa, and streets in the capital were largely empty.</p>
<p>At least 80 protesters were arrested in the eastern city of Goma, the U.N. human rights office in Congo said, mostly activists who were simply wearing red shirts, an opposition color. Police said nine opposition demonstrators were detained.</p>
<p>Kabila&#8217;s elite Republican Guard also arrested prominent opposition activist Franc Diongo in Kinshasa, Kikaya said, after Diongo&#8217;s private guards beat up three of them.</p>
<p>Militia fighters raided a jail in eastern Congo&#8217;s Butembo trying to free prisoners, triggering clashes that killed a South African U.N. peacekeeper and a police officer.</p>
<p>Seven attackers were also killed, Kabila&#8217;s chief diplomat, Barnabe Kikaya, told a news conference in Kinshasa.</p>
<p> &#8220;FLIRTATION WITH DISASTER&#8221;</p>
<p>The government and elections officials have blamed logistical and financial problems for the delay in the vote, currently scheduled for April 2018.</p>
<p>Some opposition leaders agreed Kabila can remain in office until then. The constitutional court has also ruled that Kabila, leader since his father was assassinated in 2001, can stay on.</p>
<p>But the main opposition bloc rejects the deal as a ploy, though it said it would not call protests. Talks mediated by the Roman Catholic church failed to reach a compromise.</p>
<p>&#8220;Joseph Kabila will remain in office tomorrow,&#8221; Kikaya said.</p>
<p>Authorities have blocked most social media and outlawed protests in Kinshasa, raising fears of more violence in a nation that has been plagued by war and instability for two decades since the fall of kleptocrat Mobutu Sese Seko.</p>
<p>Diplomats fear any escalation could trigger a conflict like the 1996 to 2003 wars that killed millions, sucked in neighboring armies and saw armed groups clash over Congo&#8217;s mineral wealth and the use of mass rape as a strategic weapon.</p>
<p>U.S. Great Lakes envoy Tom Perriello on Thursday said that Kabila&#8217;s hanging on was &#8220;an entirely unnecessary flirtation with disaster,&#8221; in a speech at the United States Institute of Peace.</p>
<p>Youth activists say they have taken inspiration from Burkina Faso in West Africa, where protests ousted Blaise Compaore in 2014 as he was trying to extend his 27-year rule.</p>
<p>As in Burkina, protests in Congo are in part driven by economic desperation. Congo is Africa&#8217;s biggest miner of copper and metals used in gadgets, like cobalt and coltan, but a slowdown linked to falls in commodity prices has triggered steep budget cuts and a 30 percent fall in the Congolese franc.</p>
<p>However, the country of 70 million people and more than 200 ethnic groups is fragmented. Previous protests achieved little.</p>
<p>Former colonial master Belgium advised its citizens to leave before Monday. The United States warned against non-essential travel, telling expatriates who remain to stay indoors.</p>
<p>Outside Congo, South African police used stun grenades to disperse anti-Kabila protesters in Cape Town.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley in Johannesburg and Amedee Mwarabu in Kinshasa; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Leslie Adler)﻿</p>


Chaos feared as Kabila stays past term

<p>Congo Republic expects oil output to rise to some 300,000 barrels per day in 2018, up from around 250,000 bpd now, partly due to a new deep offshore field due to come online next year, the oil minister said on Thursday.</p>
<p>Moho Nord, the second project issued on the Moho Bilondo offshore licence, is due to begin producing oil in March or April next year, Jean-Marc Thystere-Tchicaya told a conference in the capital Brazzaville.</p>
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<p>&#8220;From mid-2017 we can already count on an increase in production and then reach a peak in 2018 with 300,000 barrels per day,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We hope that the cost of a barrel of crude will stabilise on the market and allow us a good budget.&#8221;</p>
<p>Oil accounts for around 65 percent of the Central African nation&#8217;s GDP.</p>
<p>Moho Nord is expected to have production capacity of 140,000 bpd, according to operator Total, which holds a 53.5 percent stake in the project. Chevron owns 31.5 percent with the remaining 15 percent held by Congo&#8217;s state oil company SNPC.</p>
<p>Having reversed a decline in production, Congo is on track to leapfrog Equatorial Guinea to become sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s third-largest crude producer next year.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


Oil minister says Congo Republic oil output to reach 300,000 bpd in 2018 – oil minister

<p>Congo state miner Gecamines signed over its royalty rights at one of the country&#8217;s largest copper mines in January last year to an offshore company owned by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, according to a copy of the contract obtained by Global Witness and reviewed by Reuters.</p>
<p>The London-based advocacy group said in a statement on Tuesday that the lost royalties from the Kamoto Copper Co (KCC) project could cost heavily indebted Gecamines up to $880 million by 2030, about a fifth of Congo&#8217;s annual budget.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s troubling that the state miner Gecamines has signed away rights to potentially huge flows of cash that should go towards building Congo&#8217;s future,&#8221; Global Witness said.</p>
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<p>Gertler&#8217;s Fleurette Group, which holds a minority stake in KCC alongside its majority shareholder, Glencore, and Gecamines, confirmed in a statement that Africa Horizons Investment Ltd (AHIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fleurette, bought the rights from Gecamines but did not say for how much.</p>
<p>However, its statement called Global Witness&#8217;s report &#8220;damaging and defamatory&#8221;, saying Fleurette stands to lose money from the transaction owing to a fall in copper prices and KCC&#8217;s suspension of production in September 2015, both unforeseen events that occurred after the deal was signed in January.</p>
<p>&#8220;Global Witness is showing either a total lack of understanding of even the most basic business and valuation principles, or a brazen attempt to manipulate data to suit a pre-determined narrative,&#8221; a Fleurette spokesman said.</p>
<p>The Fleurette spokesman said the royalty rights acquired by AHIL expire in early 2019 &#8211; not in 2030, as Global Witness assumes in its calculation &#8211; pointing to a provision in the original 2008 accord between KCC, Gecamines and a Glencore subsidiary under which KCC&#8217;s payments of the royalties owed to Gecamines could stop in March 2019.</p>
<p>Global Witness said Fleurette &#8220;has not been able to show that the agreement will definitely end by 2019,&#8221; and called on it to publish the full terms of the deal with Gecamines.</p>
<p>Gecamines&#8217; chairman and interim director-general, who both signed the deal, did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>In a statement on the AHIL transaction, Glencore said: &#8220;KCC acted in accordance with the instructions it received from Gecamines and was not involved in the discussions between AHIL and Gecamines.&#8221;</p>
<p>Campaign groups have repeatedly accused Gertler of exploiting his friendship with Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to acquire mining assets at bargain rates before selling them at a mark-up &#8211; charges he denies.</p>
<p>Reuters was unable to determine if Gertler&#8217;s friendship with Kabila has played a role in his ability to procure mining rights in Congo. The minister of mines said only that he was unaware of the Global Witness report.</p>
<p>The Congolese government has repeatedly denied that their relationship gives Gertler privileged access.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>CONTROVERSIAL DEALS</p>
<p>It was not clear in the contract whether Gecamines received any compensation for ceding the royalty rights to AHIL, whose address in the contract is listed in the Cayman Islands, although Fleurette said it did pay an unspecified amount.</p>
<p>Glencore suspended production at KCC, the third-largest copper mine in Africa&#8217;s largest producer of the metal, in response to a global downturn in prices. It says it expects to resume production in early 2018.</p>
<p>As a result, Fleurette said, it expects to lose a significant amount of money on the deal.</p>
<p>Global Witness stood by its calculation of the value of the deal, saying it was based on information on the website of the Toronto Stock Exchange, where KCC is listed.</p>
<p>&#8220;This shows projected potential royalty payments for the life of the mine as totalling $1.596bn. Royalties are paid to the state at a rate of 2 per cent and to Gecamines at a rate of 2.5 per cent. Gecamines’ share of the total royalties amounts to approximately 55.6 per cent of $1.596bn, or $887m,&#8221; it said.</p>
<p>Gertler has been at the centre of several controversial Gecamines sales before. According to the Africa Progress Panel, headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Congo lost out on $1.36 billion in potential revenue between 2010 and 2012 in five mining deals involving Gertler.</p>
<p>He denied any wrongdoing in those deals.</p>
<p>U.S. authorities, which reached a $412 million settlement in September with the hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management LLC for its role in bribing African officials, said in the case that &#8220;an infamous Israeli businessman with close ties to government officials&#8221; paid over $100 million in bribes to Congolese officials from 2005 to 2012. A source close to the case at the time identified him as Gertler.</p>
<p>Fleurette group declined to comment on the case.</p>
<p>Gertler has long denied paying bribes and says his investments have contributed to Congo&#8217;s economic development.﻿</p>


Congo state miner signed over royalties to Israeli billionaire

<p>The United Nations Security Council pushed for a peaceful transition of power in Congo during a weekend visit aimed at averting massive violence when President Joseph Kabila&#8217;s mandate runs out on Dec. 19.</p>
<p>The visit by diplomats from countries on the council on Saturday and Sunday aimed to break the deadlock over whether Kabila should step down before an election which, thanks to slow voter registration, has been delayed until at least April 2018.</p>
<p>He has vowed to stay on until the poll goes ahead, but the opposition accuse Kabila of manipulating the process to cling to power in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a charge his supporters deny.</p>
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<p>Several protests have erupted against Kabila, who has been in power since his father was assassinated in 2001. More than 50 people were killed in street protests in September.</p>
<p>Security Council members stressed that Kabila&#8217;s seeking to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third elected mandate, as the opposition accuse him of doing and some of his supporters suggest he might, would be no solution.</p>
<p>&#8220;The DRC is at a pivotal moment in its history,&#8221; Francois Delattre, France&#8217;s ambassador to the United Nations, told journalists after the meetings on Saturday.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the first time, a peaceful transition of power at the end of the president&#8217;s mandate is possible.&#8221;</p>
<p>Angola&#8217;s ambassador to the United Nations Ismael Abraao focused more on the peaceful resolution of the crisis.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have assurances. There is a desire from everyone to avoid the worst &#8230; The Security Council is ready to work with you so that there is peace,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>But he added: &#8220;A third term has not been considered as a solution to the crisis. The solution lies in permanent dialogue.&#8221;</p>
<p>Leonard She Okitundu, a senator representing Kabila&#8217;s ruling coalition, sought to allay fears Kabila would seek another term.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is no question of a third term because the constitution forbids it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There can be no third term.&#8221;</p>
<p>World powers fear that the political impasse over Kabila staying on beyond Dec. 19 could reignite chaos in the vast Central African nation, where millions died in regional conflicts between 1998 and 2003.</p>
<p>Congo stepped up patrols in its volatile east after the former military chief of a rebel group was reported missing from a camp for demobilised fighters in neighbouring Uganda, although the Ugandan military said on Sunday that Sultani Makenga was in the country&#8217;s capital Kampala.</p>
<p>As often, there appeared to be mixed messages about Kabila&#8217;s intentions during the Security Council visit.</p>
<p>&#8220;UNSC asked #DRC Pres. Kabila to confirm he would not run in election. He said Constitution clear on no 3rd mandate but could be amended,&#8221; Stephen Hickey, political counsellor at the UK Mission to the United Nations, tweeted on Saturday.</p>
<p>&#8220;Very concerning that Pres. Kabila mentions possibility of amending constitution when asked straight question on standing for 3rd term,&#8221; he said in another Tweet.﻿</p>
<p> </p>


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Congo

Congo reports outbreaks of severe bird flu in Ituri: OIE

Congo Republic inaugurates $109 million hydroelectric dam

Africa faces a new threat to democracy: the ‘constitutional coup’

Congo’s President Kabila promises to restore security to restive centre

Congo Republic opposition leader’s appeal against jail term fails

DRC must investigate credible reports of atrocities – UN

Obituary: Etienne Tshisekedi played a huge role in Congolese politics

Congo's main opposition leader dies says diplomatic sources

Military helicopters crash in eastern Congo

At least two dozen dead in ethnic clashes in southeastern Congo

Congo opposition leader says talks on political deal faltering

Congo opposition leader sentenced to five years in prison

Gun shots fired in Kinshasa as Kabila clings to power

Chaos feared as Kabila stays past term

Oil minister says Congo Republic oil output to reach 300,000 bpd in 2018 – oil minister

Congo state miner signed over royalties to Israeli billionaire

U.N. Security Council pushes for peaceful Congo transition

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