Congo opposition spokesman Chérubin Okende, shot dead months before election

An opponent, deputy, and former minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chérubin Okende, part of the party of presidential candidate Moïse Katumbi, was found dead Thursday in Kinshasa, his body riddled with bullets, it was reported. learned from political and official sources.

According to the entourage of Moïse Katumbi, Mr. Okende went to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday and his relatives had not heard from him since. According to the same source, he was found dead Thursday morning in his car on a main avenue in Kinshasa.

"The government learned with horror of the assassination" of Chérubin Okende, said Minister of Communication and government spokesman Patrick Muyaya on Twitter.

"While condemning this heinous act, he instructed all security services to diligently carry out a thorough investigation in order to shed light on this unacceptable act," he added.

This case comes as the political climate is very tense with the approach of the elections scheduled for the end of the year.

Mr. Okende, 61, resigned last December from his post as Minister of Transport along with two other pro-Katumbi ministers.

Moïse Katumbi had just announced his presidential candidacy scheduled for next December and the withdrawal of his party, "Together for the Republic", from the ruling coalition.

President Félix Tshisekedi, in power since January 2019, will be a candidate for re-election.

To date, more than a dozen opponents have announced their intention to stand against him. The main ones, including Moïse Katumbi, consider that the electoral authorities are in the pay of power and are preparing biased elections that risk leading to fraud and chaos.