Kinshasa: A day after DR Congo’s army said it foiled a coup attempt involving several Americans and Britons, there were questions on Monday about the attackers’ motives and how they gained access to key government sites in Kinshasa.
The attempted coup was carried out early Sunday morning outside the residence of the Minister of Economy Vital Kamerhe in the Gombe area, north of the capital.
The group then went to the Palais de la Nation, home of President Felix Tshisekedi’s office, and raised the flag of Zaire, the name of the Democratic Republic of Congo under former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who was overthrown in 1997.
According to some sources, gunshots were heard near the building.
An army spokesman later said in a nationally televised statement that defense and security forces had stopped “attempted riots”.
Kamerhe, a candidate for Speaker of the National Assembly, and his family were unhurt, but two members of the security detail were killed.
The group told reporters on Monday that bullets hit vehicles and shattered windows and residential walls, aiming to “kill” the minister.
Although daily activities resumed in Gombe on Monday, many questions remain.
“They (the government) are trying to distract us from social and security issues,” civil servant Joel told AFP.
“I don’t think attackers in the middle of the capital can attack the minister’s house or the Palais de la Nation without the government’s knowledge.”
The group’s spokesman, General Sylvain Ekenge, said late on Sunday that they planned to attack the home of Prime Minister Judith Suminwa and the home of Defense Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba.
But they “could not recognize Suminwa’s house” and Bemba did not find him in his house, leading him to Camerhe’s house and the Palais de la Nation.
Opposition figure of the ECiDe Party Martin Fayulu on Monday night called attention to what he called an “attempted coup”.
In a statement signed by the party’s general secretary, Devos Kitoko, the public said they “know exactly what will happen next”.
“Politicians, don’t bother us, life is very difficult in this country,” Maman Ndosi, who sells bread and avocados, told AFP as she sat in front of her wares in Gombe district.
“I’m not afraid, because I’ve seen more than this joke!” Like the Congolese, he added, he is very skeptical of official information.
Ekenge was led by Christian Malanga, a “naturalized American” and Congolese who was killed by security forces.
“Also, we have naturalized English, the second in the group,” said Ekenge.
But the State Department in Washington said there was no information that Malanga was a US citizen. The State Department said the two detained Americans could not prove their US citizenship because of privacy laws.
However, the United States said it would cooperate “as much as possible” in the investigation and again condemned the coup attempt.
“We are concerned about reports of involvement of US citizens,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Army spokesman Ekenge said the attackers were of “several nationalities” and that about 40 people were arrested, while four others, including Malanga, were killed.
Among the attackers is Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga.
But the exact motive of the coup group is still unclear.
The government said it condemned “attempts to disrupt the authorities”.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union condemned the coup attempt.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, also followed the development with “great attention”.
The coup attempt comes five months after Tshisekedi was re-elected with more than 70 percent of the vote in the first round.
He became president in 2019 promising to improve living conditions in the mineral-rich but impoverished DRC and end 25 years of bloodshed in the east.
The pro-Tshisekedi party won 90 percent of the seats in the parliamentary elections that day, but has yet to form a government.
