DR Congo Opposition Politician Accused Of Coup Plot

The right-hand man of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition leader, Moïse Katumbi, has been accused by the army of colluding with a rebel group to plan a coup.

Salomon Idi Kalonda was arrested last week at the airport in the capital, Kinshasa. He is a key figure in Mr Katumbi’s political campaign ahead of December presidential election.

His arrest has been described by the opposition as politically motivated, but Col Kangoli Ngoli of the military intelligence said that Mr Kalonda had been “regularly” talking to M23 rebel officers “and Rwandan officers”.

“The aim was to overthrow the current authority in DR Congo by all possible means,” Col Ngoli told journalists on Monday.

The authorities in Kinshasa accuse the Rwandan army of fighting alongside the M23, an allegation Rwanda has consistently denied.

M23 spokesman Maj Willy Ngoma denied the rebel group was working with Mr Kalonda to stage a coup, adding that leaders in Kinshasa “can accuse anything about anyone they want to neutralise”.

“We cannot plan with someone in Kinshasa to organise a coup, we want talks with the government, not a coup,” Maj Ngoma said.

Source: BBC