PPRD figures leave party after Kabila creates FRN
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Beto
Joseph Kabila created the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) after leaving the Congolese People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), and senior figures in his former party resigned to challenge his direction, Beto reports. The outlet presents the departures as a sign of internal divisions, while the movement faces international condemnation for resorting to political violence.
Several senior figures in the Congolese People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), the party of former Congolese president Joseph Kabila, have resigned following the creation of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN). Patrick Nkanga Bekonda, rapporteur of the political bureau, former Human Rights Minister Marie-Ange Mushobekwa and India Omari are among the officials who have distanced themselves, according to Beto.
Allies of Joseph Kabila within the Common Front for Congo (FCC), a Congolese political coalition, have also expressed reservations. Former minister Thomas Luhaka Losendjola notably rejected the initiative, presented by the former president as a 12-point plan to take the Democratic Republic of Congo out of the crisis, according to Beto.
These defections come after several public statements accusing Joseph Kabila of preparing an armed offensive. Kinshasa accuses Joseph Kabila of preparing a generalised attack on 17 October, while Christophe Lutundula’s ADP calls for sanctions against Kabila two days later.
