Kinshasa – A former presidential candidate in the Democratic Republic of Congo was arrested Tuesday in Kinshasa, his political party announced.
“Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary was arrested under conditions that raise serious concern, while the FCC headquarters was subjected to a nighttime search,” said Aubin Minaku, a PPRD executive, on X.
Kabila, who ruled the DRC for nearly two decades until 2019, was sentenced to death in absentia for “treason” by a military court earlier this year over his alleged complicity with the M23 anti-government armed group.
Shadary had served as Kabila’s interior minister from 2016 to 2018.
In December 2018 polls, Shadary finished third behind current President Felix Tshisekedi.
On Tuesday, Minaku called for the release of Shadary, who was detained along with one of his close associates, while condemning “methods that further weaken national cohesion”.
The arrests constitute “a form of pressure and intimidation” against Kabila’s associates, PPRD spokesperson Nharly Amisi told AFP.
In October, Kabila, who was reported to have left the DRC in 2023, gathered several Congolese opposition figures including Shadary in Nairobi, Kenya, at a meeting where they decried the “dictatorship” in the DRC.
Between January and February, the M23 carried out large-scale offensives in eastern DRC, a region rich in natural resources and long plagued by conflict, enabling it to seize major cities Goma and Bukavu.
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Source: AFP
