Development Blogs.com

Yesterday was President Kabila's first interview with the press since his inauguration in January, about 100 days ago. Since first coming to power in 2001, Kabila has been known as a man of few words. In a country of the overly-verbose, most people find this puzzling. What is a leader if not someone to make long-winded speeches to his subjects?Whether you attribute Kabila's silence to his lack of comfort in French and Lingala (his preferred languages are English and Swahili), a solitary nature or a lack of intelligence, I give you a few select quotes from which to draw your own conclusions.On the possibility of opening a dialogue with Bemba:Ce n'est pas avec des négociations qu'on va assurer la sécurité des Congolais... Il faut faire respecter la loi.(Negotiations are not what will...

While news agencies now reporting over 600 deaths during the recent violence, the EU and its member states' leaders come out strongly against the attack on several embassies: Article 22 of the convention states that all diplomatic premises shall be inviolable, and that the state is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage... Meanwhile Bemba, still camped out in the South African Embassy (in Kinshasa, contrary to rumours!), is most likely headed to Portugal for medical treatment. Hopes are high that this will diffuse the political situation, although there has been much speculation over Bemba's forces that supposedly escaped across the river to Brazzaville. With 200 of Bemba's men in Equateur agreeing to...

While our old friend Jean Pierre Bemba has been braaing away his time at the South African Embassy here in Kinshasa, he still has not received permission from the Congolese government to travel to Portugal. It’s not clear who is responsible for granting the request, nor has a warrant been issued for his arrest to date.An unnamed minister comments “Bemba is a judicial problem… This has nothing to do with us.” while the state prosecutor says that although Bemba is being investigated, “(t)his case doesn’t concern the judiciary. We have nothing to do with his departure.”Apparently Bemba is not the only one looking for a new home: two swimmers competing in Melbourne on behalf of Congo have decided to make a break for a better life.On the ground here in Kinshasa, the streets are...

‘Playtime is over,’ declared President Kabila at his inauguration (’J'annonce la fin de la recréation sous toutes ses formes’). The phrase has reverberated around Kinshasa ever since, and interpretations are diverse. Optimists hope this edict will prove applicable to the members of the new government, but time alone will tell. This week, though, playtime’s extended: we have a five-day weekend, due to the coincidence of three nationwide days of mourning. Monday was for Cardinal Frédéric Etsou, Archbishop of Kinshasa, who popped his clogs on 6 January 2007, at the ripe old age of 76. Yesterday’s holiday was for Laurent Désiré Kabila, assassinated by a bodyguard on 16 January 2001. Although the facts remain remarkably obscure, this looks to have...