Britain may seek EU sanctions against those to blame for "acts of repression" in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a British envoy said on Friday. She was speaking after DR Congo's Constitutional Court ruled that President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, can stay in office beyond 2016 without being re-elected. The ruling Wednesday sparked fierce protests from the country's main opposition party.
"We are talking to our European colleagues about targeted sanctions against those responsible for actions or decisions involving violence against citizens and intimidation of the opposition," said Danae Dholakia, Britain's special envoy to Africa's Great Lakes region. "The position of the United Kingdom is that the people responsible for acts of repression or violence will take responsibility for their actions or decisions," said Dholakia.
The British envoy referred to the legal woes of Moise Katumbi, an opposition candidate for elections in theory due before the end of the year, who was investigated for some 10 days about the alleged recruitment of mercenaries. "I sincerely hope that recent accusations made against Moise Katumbi are not an extension of political restrictions" in DRC, which western countries and the UN have condemned for several months, she added. Tension has been growing for months in the DRC because of what the opposition alleges are Kabila's efforts to cling on to power.
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