It appears that President Kabila’s constitutional revisions are already paying off. Yesterday, Etienne Tshisekedi announced that he would not consider backing another, joint opposition candidate against Kabila. “I didn’t fight for twenty years [sic] to allow someone else to take my place.”
Kamerhe then hits back in this interview. He insisted on unifying the opposition against Kabila: “I am terrified of providential men. That’s what killed the Congo. ‘It’s me or nobody.’ Nobody is indispensable, nobody is better than another, we are all children of God, let’s humble ourselves and God will elevate us.”
So the opposition seems to be fracturing. Interestingly, Kamerhe – who is well situated to know the inner workings of other opposition parties – suggested that Jean-Pierre Bemba would also likely to be designated as the MLC candidate for the presidency. That would almost certainly happen while he’s on trial in The Hague. Is it really the best thing to put yourself forward if there is a decent chance that you will spending the next few years in prison, unable to carry out any government duties?