DR Congo: Bemba back on August 1 in Kinshasa, announces his party

Former Congolese warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba will return to Kinshasa on August 1, announced his party on Monday, which has already invested him in the presidential election of December 23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo after his acquittal by the International Criminal Court (ICC)

"The Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) has the great honor of bringing to the attention of the public that it pleased God Almighty after ten years of absence in the country, to allow the return of Senator Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo on his homeland, the land of his ancestors, the Democratic Republic of Congo, this Wednesday, August 1, at N'Djili International Airport ", the MLC writes in a statement.

" The MLC invites the Congolese population, especially the Kinois and Kinoises, to offer him a warm welcome, in peace and joy, "said the statement, signed by the Secretary General Eve Bazaiba

M. Bemba, 55, who is currently in Belgium, was acquitted and released on bail by the ICC's Jury of Appeal in June. He was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years in prison for abuses committed by his militia in the Central African Republic in the early 2000s.

In early July, an ICC prosecutor asked for a maximum of five years in prison in a subsidiary case witness tampering. His lawyers plead the relaxe. The ICC gave no date for the announcement of the verdict.

Upon his acquittal, the ICC imposed conditions on his provisional release, including "not changing address without notice".

The electoral process in the DRC enters a decisive phase with the filing of candidatures for the presidential election from Wednesday until August 8.

M. Bemba can apply for a diplomatic passport at the DRC embassy in Brussels, the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs said on June 25.

Former vice-president and candidate in 2006, Mr. Bemba had left Kinshasa in 2007 after fighting between his militia and the army of President Joseph Kabila who had killed dozens.

Originally from Ecuador (north-west), Mr. Bemba is very popular in the west and in Kinshasa where he scored well in 2006.

At the end of July 2016, a monstrous crowd greeted the return to Kinshasa of the historical opponent Etienne Tshisekedi, who died on February 1, 2017.

Since then, at least two announcements of return never succeeded: that of the opponent in exile and presidential candidate declared Moses Katumbi, whose lawyer must speak Tuesday in Paris, and … that of the remains of Mr. Tshisekedi, still in Brussels, lack of enforcement an agreement between the family and the authorities for repatriation and funeral.