Katumbi calling for sanctions against DRC leaders responsible for deaths

A Democratic Republic of Congo opposition leader, Moise Katumbi, has called on Wednesday for the imposition of international sanctions against security officials responsible for the deaths of protesters in two days of demonstrations against President Joseph Kabila.

“Without sanctions, they will continue killing people like mosquitoes,” said Moise Katumbi, a business tycoon and former Kabila ally. He was convicted in absentia of corruption and sentenced to 36 months in jail after he fled the country in June.

The business tycoon further said that without sanction, the security officials will continue to kill innocent civilians in DRC.

At least 37 protesters and six police officers died this week in the violence, according to Human Rights Watch.

The government, which has blamed the opposition for the unrest and vowed to punish the ringleaders, put the death toll at 32, including four officers.

Katumbi has maintained that more than 50 people were killed during protests. He further said that said that African Union mediator Edem Kodjo, a former Togolese premier appointed to arbitrate between the government and opposition, should be replaced because he is biased toward Kinshasa.