Namibia condemns coup in DRC
Written by on May 20, 2024
The Namibian government has strongly condemned an attempted coup d’etat in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), that took place during the early hours of Sunday, 19 May 2024.
A statement released by minister of international relations and cooperation, Peya Mushelenga, says that Namibia remains resolute in its stance on zero tolerance on acceding to power through unconstitutional means.
Mushelenga says Namibia welcomes, supports, and aligns itself with the statement made by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which reaffirms the commitment of its member states.
In a report by the BBC, the DRC army says it has quashed the attempted coup against president Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, involving Congolese and foreign fighters.
The report continued with a statement by DRC army spokesperson, brigadier general Sylavin Ekenge, saying that 50 suspects, including three Americans, and a naturalised British citizen have been detained.
The African Union Commission issued a statement saying its chairperson, Moussa Faki, “strongly condemns the coup attempt and welcomes the control of the situation announced by the country’s defence and security forces.”
“He takes this opportunity to condemn any use of force to change the constitutional order in any African state whatsoever,” it added.
Local media initially identified the armed men as Congolese soldiers, but then reported they were linked to self-exiled opposition figure Christian Malanga, who later posted a video on Facebook threatening Tshisekedi from within the presidential palace.
According to CBS News, Tshisekedi was re-elected as president in December in a chaotic election that saw opposition parties demand a revote over what they said was a lack of transparency. The central African country has witnessed similar trends of disputed elections in the past.
The alleged coup attempt also came amid a crisis within Tshisekedi’s ruling party, over an election for the parliament’s leadership that was supposed to be held on Saturday, but was postponed.
The post Namibia condemns coup in DRC appeared first on The Namibian.
