Eddy Kapend accuses Kabila of seeking power by force
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
General Eddy Kapend, commander of the Congolese 22nd military region, accuses Joseph Kabila of seeking to regain power by force of arms and promises to block his path. During a talk at Major Vangu camp in Lubumbashi, he also called on the army and police to strengthen their vigilance, according to Actualité.cd.
General Eddy Kapend, commander of the 22nd military region of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), accused former president Joseph Kabila on Monday of seeking to regain power by force of arms. During a meeting with soldiers and police officers in Lubumbashi, he called on them to strengthen their vigilance in the face of security threats.
Eddy Kapend compared Joseph Kabila to the biblical figure Goliath and presented himself as David, determined to face him. The former president leads the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), a political and military movement mentioned in the general’s remarks.
The commander also ordered the arrest of Colonel Kabonde Wa Kidianga, in charge of Major Vangu camp, after the death of Captain Kathy Tshikomb Thérèse, who was found killed at her home during the night of 12 to 13 October. He asked the military justice authorities to provide him with information on the investigation by Wednesday.
These statements come amid a succession of positions taken over the FRN. Joseph Kabila announced that he led the movement on 12 October, after which Eddy Kapend called on the army to mobilise against him on 19 October, according to Kapend’s call against the FRN. On 25 October, the head of the Republican Guard also threatened Joseph Kabila with popular anger, in a warning from the Republican Guard.
