Congo-Kinshasa: Former Minister Turned Opposition Figure Okende Shot Dead in Kinshasa

© Pascal Mulegwa / RFI
The late Chérubin Okende.
14 July 2023
allAfrica.com
By Jerry Chifamba

Harare — The spokesperson for one of the biggest opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was shot and killed, escalating tensions ahead of the country's December elections, Al Jazeera reports.

A video circulating on social media appeared to show the bullet-riddled body of Cherubin Okende, a former transport minister and parliamentarian, slumped inside his car in the nation's capital, Kinshasa, according to the report.

Okende belonged to Moise Katumbi's party, a prominent opposition figure who plans to run for president in December. Okende resigned from the government at the end of December when Katumbi announced his desire to challenge President Felix Tshisekedi, who took office in January 2019.

In the months preceding the election, political tensions increase as opposition members, including Katumbi, said the country's electoral body is preparing a rigged vote.

General elections are expected to be held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 20 December 2023, according to the electoral calendar released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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