DRC: Youth rally Dr. Mukwege to pressure Kabila exit

Thousands of youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo held peaceful protests on Saturday, demanding that elections be held in accordance with the constitutional deadline.

They also called on a famous surgeon Dr. Denis Mukwege to be their spokesperson. The surgeon is famous worldwide for his fight for the rights of women in DRC.

Mukwege acknowledged their calls, saying he was honored to be chosen as the mouthpiece, but at the same time stating that the role was a difficult one, as expressly requested by a crowd of young people who want to see a change in their country.

As DRC presidential elections approach, the 61-year-old doctor, who received the 2014 Sakharov Prize for human rights, has already raised the tone. He has been accusing the government of deliberate maneuvers to delay elections beyond the limits provided in the Constitution.

Mukwege who has founded Panzi Hospital in DRC has treated about 30,000 rape victims, and hid story includes disturbing accounts of rape as a weapon of war.

Despite censorship by the Congolese government, attacks, and an assassination attempt, he has continually returned to the operating theater, with a fierce worldwide campaign to bring the military use of sexual violence to an end.