Yerodia move follows sustained pressure

The replacement of the controversial former foreign minister Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi in President Kabila’s cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday was regarded by many as long-awaited and, if anything, overdue, according to diplomatic sources. The switching of Yerodia from the foreign affairs portfolio to State Minister for Education came in the same week as the International Court of Justice in The Hague held public hearings on whether or not Belgium should revoke an international arrest warrant on charges of inciting ethnic hatred against him. Analysts noted that the reshuffle followed a visit to the DRC by the Belgian deputy foreign minister, Annemie Neyts, while diplomatic sources indicated that pressure had also come from South Africa and France to have Yerodia sidelined.

The new Foreign Minister, Leonard She Okitundu - respected by diplomats after his time, until this appointment, as Human Rights Minister - would be expected to take a much more conciliatory tone than Yerodia, who became the subject of the Belgian extradition request after referring to the Tutsi ethnic group as “vermin that must be methodically eliminated” on state radio in 1998. On the other hand, the Minister delegate for Defence, Godefroid Tchamlesso - who would be replacing President Kabila, who has himself held the defence portfolio until now - was regarded as a tough proposition, they added.