Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 24 August 2016: DRC opposition calls for general strike against Kabila

Opposition activists within their parties are calling for Kabila to step down in December when his mandate will be no longer valid. Opponents of the Congolese president have started the protest on Tuesday. Opposition leader Moise Katumb encourages people to stand up against a "constitutional breach" as he termed. In an encounter in the district of Limete in Kinshasa police fired teargas towards hundred protesters. Despite the fact that the government opened a round of talks, opposition is constantly boycotting any attempt of the allegedly peaceful initiative.

Opposition spokesman Bruno Tshibala claims that «The government's provocations, its inconsistencies, are increasing as they seek to corrupt the facilitator to rig the outcome of the dialogue».

Moreover, Fayulu (leader of the Commitment for Citizenship and Development party) said that the opposition parties would only participate in a dialogue under the UN Security Council resolution 2277, which called for discussions that respected the Congolese constitution.

Kabila came to power after the assassination of his father in 2001 and although the constitution stated that a president could only serve for two terms, he is not willing to step down as it is mandated in the constitution.

It is crucial to add that DRC has never had a democratic transition of power in its 56 years of independence after the collapse of the colonial system and the Belgian supremacy. DRC is a war-torn country where ethnic and political tensions are catalysed by the «greed & grievance syndrome» caused by huge mineral wealth, especially in the lawless east.