Tension rises in DRC as opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi returns [The Morning Call]

Police fired tear gas to disperse supporters of Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition chief on Sunday as they gathered in the capital amid high tensions over election delays keeping President Joseph Kabila in power.

Felix Tshisekedi, the leader of the opposition in the DRC, returned to Kinshasa on Sunday after a trip to Europe.

He was to travel on to his residence in Kinshasa’s Limete neighbourhood, where earlier in the day four opposition activists had been arrested by police Tshisekedi is the son — and successor in the opposition movement — of Etienne Tshisekedi, a longtime leading opponent of President Joseph Kabila.

Kinshasa police had said on Saturday that they were banning Sunday’s planned demonstration of the opposition coalition, saying they feared violent clashes.

The opposition parties have called for Kabila to step down. The president’s second term ended in December 2016 and the constitution bars him from standing for re-election.