Kabila's son rules Congo

Jan 18, 2001

KINSHASA, Wednesday - Democratic Republic of Congo officials yesterday persistently denied widespread reports of President Laurent Kabila's death but said his son, Joseph, had taken over the government and the armed forces.

KINSHASA, Wednesday - Democratic Republic of Congo officials yesterday persistently denied widespread reports of President Laurent Kabila's death but said his son, Joseph, had taken over the government and the armed forces. Foreign governments, including former colonial power Belgium and Kabila's close ally Zimbabwe, said he had died after being shot by one of his own soldiers on Tuesday. Congolese Information Minister Dominique Sakombi told state radio that Kabila had been flown abroad for medical treatment. "The government of public salvation met in a special session...and decided to entrust the running of the government and military command to Major-General Joseph Kabila," Sakombi said. Joseph, the army commander, fought beside his father in the rebellion that toppled veteran dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 and made Kabila ruler of the vast, mineral-rich territory at the heart of Africa. "The government wishes the president a speedy recovery and a rapid return amongst us," Sakombi said, adding that the government was reopening borders and airports that were shut on Tuesday and relaxing an overnight curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (2100 - 0400 GMT). Sakombi told Radio France International that Kabila was shot at point-blank range by a bodyguard, who was killed by soldiers as he tried to flee. Belgium and Zimbabwe, Kabila's biggest ally in a war since 1998 against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda, stood by earlier reports that he had been killed. "President Kabila has died. It was a pure assassination," Zimbabwean Defence Minister Moven Mahachi told the state news agency. Ziana quoted other senior government sources as saying Kabila died early on Wednesday on a plane carrying him to Zimbabwe for treatment. Belgium's foreign ministry said it had seen dispatches from Kinshasa saying Kabila was alive, but a spokesman said, "These two communications don't change our conviction that he's dead." The capital, remained calm on Wednesday, as it had during Tuesday. "The streets are very calm -- I'm driving around as we speak," one resident told Reuters by cellphone. "I've seen soldiers in places where there are usually soldiers, but nothing out of the ordinary," the resident added. Wednesday was a public holiday in remembrance of the 40th anniversary of the murder of independence Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. "It is our hope that whoever replaces Kabila will not be as intransigent as he has been," said James Wapakhabulo, Uganda's national political commissar who is involved in shaping policy on the Congo. Joseph Kabila was born during his father's long exile in East Africa and is well connected in both Rwanda and Uganda, being much more familiar with Swahili and English spoken there than with the Lingala and French of western Congo. Former Botswana President Ketumile Masire, appointed by the Organisation of African Unity to run all-party talks on Congo's future, sounded far from optimistic. "The death of Kabila is not an end to the conflict. It only complicates an already very complicated situation," Masire said. Zimbabwe, whose President Robert Mugabe was close to Kabila, pledged support for Kabila's family and his country. Namibia said its 2,000 troops would remain deployed in Congo. Regional security sources said a Congolese aircraft had flown members of Kabila's family, and possibly also his body, to Harare early yesterday. (see related stories on pages 3, 12, 14 and 27). Ends.

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