Leaders of DR Congo’s main opposition party and the catholic church said on Monday that they will participate in a march on February 25 to demand President Joseph Kabila’s resignation.
On January 21, at least six civilians died when security forces clashed with catholic churchgoers who held protests demanding that Kabila leaves power.
The country’s powerful catholic church is leading the front, accusing Kabila, who has been in office since 2001 after the assassination of his father Laurent Kabila, of refusing to step down yet his constitutional term ended in December 2016.
On Monday, the Lay Coordination Committee (CLC), a group of Catholic intellectuals, backed by Catholic priests and Bishops in Congo, called on Congolese to join the protest.
In a statement, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) said a party congress scheduled for February 26-27 “is being postponed to support the march on February 25”.
The Congolese church in 2016 brokered an accord under which President Kabila could remain in power provided new elections were held in 2017.
But Kabila has not stepped down after the country’s electoral commission said it needed more time to compile a voters’ register. A new date for the vote is set for December this year.
Last year, Congolese soldiers fired teargas and live rounds to disperse thousands of catholic churchgoers as they tried to march through streets.
All the main political opposition leaders, civil society groups, and citizens’ movements say they will support the call to protest.
During the previous anti-Kabila march held on December 31 2017, police and security forces opened fire on demonstrators, human rights groups said. Demonstrators said 12 churchgoers died, the UN said 5, and the government said nobody died.
Previously, Human Rights Watch have accused security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo of using excessive force, including teargas and live ammunition, against peaceful protesters at Catholic churches.
The catholic church leadership has vowed to continue calling on their faithfuls to come out in peaceful protests to demand that President Kabila respects the constitution and leaves power peacefully.