DRC: Reactions trail arrest of Vital Kamerhe [Morning Call]

A major arrest of a top aide in the Democratic republic of Congo DRC. Vital Kamerhe, who is Chief of Staff to President Felix Tshisekedi was arrested on Wednesday after testifying in an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of public funds. His arrest followed hours of testimony at the public prosecutor’s office into how the 304 million dollars infrastructure fund he oversaw was spent.

Kamerhe hasn’t been charged but he is being held at the Kinshasa Makal Prison. Now, it is very rare in the DRC to see someone as visible and well known as Vital, be held accountable for corruption, the reason why this indeed is highly symbolic. So who really is Vital Kimerhe?

After a long spell as speaker of parliament, Kamerhe became a key figure on the political scene in the DRC. The 61-year-old is in fact seen as a potential successor to President Felix Tshisekedi in 2023 with some reports claiming an agreement was made for this.

His arrest now puts much into question in the country’s political alliances. Already, his allies including close associates and MPs from the UNC party, of which Mr. Kamerhe is president have denounced the arrest and called for his unconditional release. Meanwhile some civil society and activist groups such as the Lucha movement, are instead calling for his suspension from the chief of staff office.

For more on this now, we are now being joined by Stewart Muhindo from LUCHA, a top activist group in the central African country.