Human rights minister confirms detention of party activists

DRC Minister of Human Rights Ntumba Luaba has confirmed that members of the opposition party FONUS were detained by police for a day after the return of their leader Joseph Olenghankoy on Saturday from preparatory talks for the inter-Congolese dialogue held last week in Gaborone, Botswana. Luaba told a press conference in Kinshasa on Monday that a large number of Olenghankoy’s supporters had attempted to move onto the tarmac at Kinshasa airport and police had decided to block them for the sake of public order and safety. Luaba said he had not yet received a full report on how police dealt with the demonstration. DRC authorities had earlier denied that anyone was arrested.

At the same meeting, DRC Minister of Foreign Affairs Leonard She Okitundu was asked when the government would release political prisoners, as all parties to the upcoming inter-Congolese dialogue agreed last week that all political prisoners in the country should be released. Okitundu said that if there were any prisoners in territory controlled by the government who were held for their political opinions, they would be released. But he stressed that political activities should be conducted in accordance with the law and should not infringe on public order.