Congolese opposition figure Prince Epenge transferred to Makala
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Le Potentiel and Actualité.cd
Prince Epenge, a Congolese opposition figure, was transferred to Makala Central Prison after his request for provisional release was rejected, despite his defence not being notified in advance, according to Le Potentiel and Actualité.cd. Martin Fayulu denounced a decision contrary to the suspension of admissions to the overcrowded prison and demanded his release, Actualité.cd reports.
Congolese opposition figure Prince Epenge was transferred to Makala Central Prison after his application for provisional release was rejected, his lawyer Clément Muza confirmed to Actualité.cd and told Le Potentiel. The defence says it was not informed in advance of the court’s decision, after Epenge had appeared before the judges in chambers the previous day.
Martin Fayulu condemned the transfer on X on 31 October, saying it contradicted the suspension of admissions of new detainees to Makala, an already overcrowded prison. The leader of LAMUKA, who presents Epenge as the president of ADD Congo, Lamuka’s spokesman and a member of C64, demanded his immediate release, according to Actualité.cd.
ECIDé Secretary-General Devos Kitoko described the transfer as an attack on democratic principles and an “insult to the struggle for democracy in the DRC”. He also referred to a “serious precedent” that could strengthen the idea that taking up arms is the only way to be respected, Le Potentiel reports and Actualité.cd confirms. The defence has announced that it will continue its legal proceedings.
Prince Epenge was arrested on 25 October at N’Djili International Airport as he was due to travel to Rome for a C64 coalition conclave. According to Actualité.cd, he was initially reported missing before being located at the National Cyber Defence Council, where he was questioned, according to his party, and then transferred to the prosecutor’s office attached to the Kinshasa/Gombe High Court. He is facing charges including spreading false rumours in connection with the death of Manassé Lomboto, ADD Congo’s head of security, who was killed during the opposition march on 15 September in Kinshasa. The body of the 25-year-old remains at the mortuary of Cinquantenaire Hospital, while the C64 coalition accuses the UDPS’s Force du progrès of being responsible for his death, Actualité.cd reports.
