UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
DRC Press Review
*Original in French
On Tuesday, the High Military Court sentenced eleven people, including a former chief military prosecutor, to death over the murder of a tax official in 2003, according to today's newspapers.
On Tuesday, the High Military Court sentenced eleven people, including a former chief military prosecutor, to death over the murder of a tax official in 2003, according to today's newspapers.
Colonel Charles Alamba and ten other people were given the death penalty over the 2003 assassination of Steve Nyembo, who was, at the time, human resources manager with the Taxation Office, LE POTENTIEL reports. Concluding a 7-month trial on Tuesday, the paper comments, the High Military Court found the former general prosecutor of the defunct Cour d'Ordre Military and his co-accused guilty of multiple charges including criminal association, assassination and terrorism. At the same time, 6 other people were acquitted.
As reported in L'AVENIR, the facts are as follows: Steve Nyembo was killed at his residence in Kinshasa on September 28, 200. The group responsible for Nyembo's death was operating on the order of Colonel Charles Alamba. Alamba and his gang were behind a series of aggressions, assassinations and armed robberies committed across the capital.
LE PHARE, L'OBSERVATEUR, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, LE PALMARES and FORUM DES AS, all look back on the proceedings of the trial 'that had held the Congolese population spellbound for seven months.'
Broaching the transition process, LE PALMARES announces, for this Wednesday, a 'moment-of-truth meeting between Joseph Kabila and the International Committee To Support the Transition (ICST).' According to the paper, Joseph Kabila and the ICST have things to tell each other, which include above all 'prerequisites to be put in place before viable elections can be held in the DRC.' The creation of an integrated army is sure to be among the keys issues this meeting will be considering.
LE PALMARES also mentions that the first preparatory meeting of the Joint Verification Mechanism between the DRC and Rwanda is under way in Kigali since yesterday. LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES notes that President Joseph Kabila's ambassador at large, Antoine Ghonda, is leading the DRC delegation at that meeting. The two parties are mainly considering technical aspects, including practical details of how to put in place the Joint Verification Mechanism.
On the State budget for 2005, LE POTENTIEL recalls that the Government is yet to submit the draft document to the Parliament and that the President of the National Assembly has deplored that delay. The paper quotes the Minister of the Budget as confirming that the drafting of the budget is under way, but that the document will be finalised only after the meeting of donors that is due to take place some time during the first fortnight of November, in Washington. 'This meeting will determine the level of foreign partners' contribution to the budget,' the paper adds.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES warns that 'a delay in adopting the budget 2005 could mean delaying elections.' 'If the draft budget in question is not adopted by the National Assembly by October 31, they will need to think seriously about postponing the future general elections, and extending the transitional period as a result.'
According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the Vice-Presidents of the Republic have expressed their optimism about a successful transition, despite the current delay in preparing the draft budget 2005. This is in reference to a meeting between religious leaders and three of the four Vice-Presidents (Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba is currently on mission to the US). These religious leaders handed over to the Vice-Presidents a memo calling for a peaceful conclusion of the transition, and in which they insist on 'the reunification of the army and the intelligence services and [on] a genuine reconciliation within the 'presidential space',' ' [that is, between the President and his Vice-Presidents.]
Recalling the Gatumba massacre, LA REFERENCE PLUS comes up with a different version showing that 'Ruberwa, Kagame and the Burundians distorted the truth about Gatumba.' Quoting a report from the NOG 'Peace For Africa Now', the paper writes that 'This refugee camp was infiltrated by Rwandan soldiers who were preparing to launch an attack on Uvira (DRC)' and that 'most of the victims were Rwandan soldiers.'
As reported in L'AVENIR, the facts are as follows: Steve Nyembo was killed at his residence in Kinshasa on September 28, 200. The group responsible for Nyembo's death was operating on the order of Colonel Charles Alamba. Alamba and his gang were behind a series of aggressions, assassinations and armed robberies committed across the capital.
LE PHARE, L'OBSERVATEUR, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, LE PALMARES and FORUM DES AS, all look back on the proceedings of the trial 'that had held the Congolese population spellbound for seven months.'
Broaching the transition process, LE PALMARES announces, for this Wednesday, a 'moment-of-truth meeting between Joseph Kabila and the International Committee To Support the Transition (ICST).' According to the paper, Joseph Kabila and the ICST have things to tell each other, which include above all 'prerequisites to be put in place before viable elections can be held in the DRC.' The creation of an integrated army is sure to be among the keys issues this meeting will be considering.
LE PALMARES also mentions that the first preparatory meeting of the Joint Verification Mechanism between the DRC and Rwanda is under way in Kigali since yesterday. LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES notes that President Joseph Kabila's ambassador at large, Antoine Ghonda, is leading the DRC delegation at that meeting. The two parties are mainly considering technical aspects, including practical details of how to put in place the Joint Verification Mechanism.
On the State budget for 2005, LE POTENTIEL recalls that the Government is yet to submit the draft document to the Parliament and that the President of the National Assembly has deplored that delay. The paper quotes the Minister of the Budget as confirming that the drafting of the budget is under way, but that the document will be finalised only after the meeting of donors that is due to take place some time during the first fortnight of November, in Washington. 'This meeting will determine the level of foreign partners' contribution to the budget,' the paper adds.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES warns that 'a delay in adopting the budget 2005 could mean delaying elections.' 'If the draft budget in question is not adopted by the National Assembly by October 31, they will need to think seriously about postponing the future general elections, and extending the transitional period as a result.'
According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the Vice-Presidents of the Republic have expressed their optimism about a successful transition, despite the current delay in preparing the draft budget 2005. This is in reference to a meeting between religious leaders and three of the four Vice-Presidents (Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba is currently on mission to the US). These religious leaders handed over to the Vice-Presidents a memo calling for a peaceful conclusion of the transition, and in which they insist on 'the reunification of the army and the intelligence services and [on] a genuine reconciliation within the 'presidential space',' ' [that is, between the President and his Vice-Presidents.]
Recalling the Gatumba massacre, LA REFERENCE PLUS comes up with a different version showing that 'Ruberwa, Kagame and the Burundians distorted the truth about Gatumba.' Quoting a report from the NOG 'Peace For Africa Now', the paper writes that 'This refugee camp was infiltrated by Rwandan soldiers who were preparing to launch an attack on Uvira (DRC)' and that 'most of the victims were Rwandan soldiers.'
