Former DR Congo President Kabila, meets Moise Katumbi in Ethiopia for a united front against Tshisekedi

The immediate former President of Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila has just held talks with the charismatic opposition politician and presidential candidate, Moise Katumbi.

In what was termed as the ‘Meeting of Giants,’ the two influential figures in DR Congo politics recently met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Observers say their meeting has sent political shockwaves in Kinshasa, especially among the supporters of the ruling party.

The meeting between fourth Republican President Joseph Kabila and ​the Ensemble pour la République leader Moise Katumbi, according to ​the news​ from DR Congo and Ethiopia, seems to have disturbed the peace of the ruling class in Kinshasa.

Supporters of the current DR Congo Head of State, President Felix Tshisekedi have also been holding a series of meetings trying to dissect what exactly could have seriously transpired during the Kabila and Katumbi private talks in Ethiopia.

But reports from insiders at the Ethiopa meeting, reveal that during their meeting in Addis Ababa, Kabila and Katumbi hatched a plan to gang up and create a united movement.

It will involve their respective supporters in the DR Congo with the aim of unseating the current leader, Felix Tshisekedi.

During their meeting in Ethiopia, the two renegade politicians expressed concern over the situation back home in Congo, especially what they described to be growing restrictions on fundamental freedoms in the country.

Both Katumbi and Kabila expressed their deep concern about the arbitrary arrests affecting many journalists, activists, opponents and ordinary citizens, whether civilians or military.

They stressed that these detentions are often motivated by divergent political opinions or ethnicity, which constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights.

The two leaders of Katanga also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, saying that national reconciliation can only be done within a framework of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

This meeting between Katumbi and Kabila, although surprising, has surely aroused many reactions. The two men, despite their past differences, seem ready to bury the hatchet and form a common platform and front movements against President Tshisekedi’s government.