A Third Term for DR Congo President Expected to Wreak Social Havoc
Inter Press Service - 7 hours ago
By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman

Rose Fungulana, a 53-year-old farmer, fears that if DRC President
Joseph Kabila is allowed to serve a third term of office, there will
be a rebellion that will increase the risk of sexual assault against
women. Courtesy: Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
KIKWIT, DR Congo, Jul 2 2014 (IPS) - Proposals to review the
Democratic Republic of Congo's constitution to permit President Joseph
Kabila to seek a third term of office, if accepted, will only plunge
the Congolese further into poverty and insecurity, experts warn.
"More than 60 percent of Congolese live on less than one dollar a day.
Our compatriots are struggling to access our natural resources. DRC
risks [looting] of stores as it was in 1991 in Mobutu [Sese Seko's
reign]," Raymond Kitako, a civil society leader in DRC, told IPS.
Mobutu ruled the country for 31 years in a reign that was synonymous
with corruption. In 1991 people looted stores and shops as the economy
plunged.
Mobutu was overthrown in 1997 by current President Joseph Kabila's
father, Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated in 2001. Joseph Kabila
replaced his father as head of state and was later elected president
in 2006 and 2011.
"If this decision is applied, it places the country at risk for a
serious political crisis," Kitako added.
Article 70 of the constitution specifies that the presidential mandate
of five years is only renewable once. And article 220 of the
constitution specifically states there should be no review of the
constitution when it comes to the presidential mandate. However, the
ruling coalition Presidential Majority was said to be discussing the
possibility of reviewing the limits placed on the term of office.
"If the presidential [term] is reviewed, the DRC will register a step
backwards of 60 years. We don't like it," said Vital Kamerhe, Joseph
Kabila's main political opponent and chairman of the opposition Union
for Congolese Nation, during a meeting with journalists.
Raymond Kitako, a civil society leader in DRC, said if DRC President
Joseph Kabila is allowed to serve a third term of office, it would
result in a serious political crisis. Courtesy: Badylon Kawanda
Bakiman.
For Kamerhe, "Burundi's example where members of parliament refused to
review the constitution [after being asked to do so] by President
Pierre Nkurunziza must be a lesson to the presidential majority in
DRC."
Ernest Malonda, a member of the opposition Union for Democracy and
Social Progress, told IPS that if the president was allowed to seek a
third term of office, "DRC will lose its national unity. Congolese
will not circulate freely. Bandits called 'Kuluna' will become very
numerous and the people will suffer."
"Where have you seen a country at war receive economic investors?"
asked Germaine Tangolo, an economist.
Many here remember the rebellion of 1997 where more than six million
Congolese died when Laurent Kabila overthrew Mobutu. And they don't
want to relive it.
"The war will start and as a consequence so will sexual violence and
gender-based violence as people look for natural resources," feared
Rose Fungulana, a 53-year-old farmer.
She said that in the 1997 war, her 23-year-old sister was raped by
Mobutu's soldiers in eastern DRC.
A 2013 report published by Ministry of Gender, however, shows sexual
violence remains very high in the country, as "29,354 cases of sexual
violence and gender-based violence were registered in seven provinces
of DRC from 2011 to 2013."
Fungulana worries that women will be even more at risk should there be
a rebellion against the president serving a third term of office.
Jean Claude Katenda, president of the African Association for Human
Rights in DRC, told IPS that the "people will contest the results and
people will die [protesting against it]. It's dangerous for the
democracy. Corruption will circulate."
However, Luzanga Shamandevu, spokesman of presidential majority,
denied this would happen and said that they would accept the outcome
if the constitution was reviewed.
However, some are willing to take their chances with a changed constitution.
"I don't understand why political opposition and Presidential Majority
are divided! Let us see what the country will become if the Congolese
constitution is reviewed," Simon Kapalay, a teacher at Kikwit, in the
southwest of DRC, told IPS.
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/07/poverty-and-gender-violence-will-escalate-if-dr-congo-constitutional-revision-allows-president-to-serve-third-term/&source=s&q=A+Third+Term+for+DR+Congo+President+Expected+to+Wreak+Social+Havoc
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