Move part of deal intended to calm political tensions after president delayed elections but in effect extends his term in office

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has named an opposition politician as prime minister following a controversial deal between the government and fringe groups that will in effect extend the president’s term in office.

Joseph Kabila, who has won two elections, was scheduled to relinquish power when his second mandate expires on 19 December, as many say the constitution requires.



But the international community has watched with alarm as the central African state has descended into a state of prolonged unrest since Kabila, 45, announced that elections scheduled for later this month would be delayed.

Samy Badibanga was announced as the country’s next prime minister in a presidential decree read on state television on Thursday, following a deal aimed at calming political tensions.

Badibanga, the leader of the main opposition bloc in parliament, takes over from Augustin Matata, who resigned on Monday to make way for an opposition figure to take his place following the agreement that was largely boycotted by mainstream opposition leaders.

In a defiant speech on Tuesday, Kabila told parliamentarians in the capital, Kinshasa: “The deal currently represents the only road map put in place by the Congolese themselves.”

Kabila also pledged elections would be organised in the coming months, but warned against foreign “interference”, apparently reacting to remarks by some UN security council diplomats who visited Congo at the weekend to push for a peaceful transition of power.

Kabila’s supporters say logistical and financial constraints mean it is impossible to hold fair polls as planned, but critics say the president is trying to cling to power by whatever means necessary.

DRC’s leading opposition figures have said they are disappointed with the deal.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A recent opinion poll found that Joseph Kabila’s popularity has collapsed to 7.8% Photograph: Reuters

“Everybody thought Kabila would give relief to the people but he came out with a speech that made clear he doesn’t want to leave power,” Martin Fayulu, the president of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development (ECIDE) party, said.

Scores of pro-democracy demonstrators and several policemen were killed and the offices of the main opposition parties badly damaged amid widespread looting during protests in September.



Analysts say more violence is likely. “There will be protests but will they be able to harness large population groups … And how will the security forces react? Will they shoot?” said Prof Filip Reyntjens, an expert in central Africa at the University of Antwerp.

Senior opposition figures have predicted civil war if Kabila does not give way.

A recent opinion poll found that Kabila’s popularity has collapsed to 7.8% and that the majority of Congolese would vote either for Étienne Tshisekedi or Moïse Katumbi, a former governor of Katanga province and the owner of Africa’s top football club, who is currently overseas.

Kabila took power in 2001, 10 days after the assassination of his father, the then president, Laurent Kabila.



Lambert Mende, a government spokesman, told the Guardian last month any accusations that Kabila was trying to retain power were “gross lies”. The constitution stipulated that the president should not leave office until a new president was elected, Mende said.



The resource-rich DRC has been mired in violence and corruption since Belgium’s King Leopold II turned it into his own personal source of income at the end of the 19th century.

Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko took power in 1965 and ruled for 32 years, amassing a billion-dollar fortune which he spent on marble-tiled gaudy palaces and leopardskin hats. Mobutu was overthrown in a coup in 1997 by Laurent Kabila. The DRC has never had a peaceful transition of power.