Mayi-Mayi “not controlled” by Kabila

The Mayi-Mayi militia forces have denied they are under the control of President Laurent-Desire Kabila, saying they have “never belonged to an individual or a group”. In a statement, received on Monday by IRIN, the Conseil politico-militaire des forces Mayi-Mayi, said they simply shared the desire to “render harmless the invaders”. The statement announced the Mayi-Mayi’s “new strategy” of “urban ungovernability”, in which they sought to attack military targets in “occupied” towns. One example of this was the attack against Ugandan troops in Beni earlier this month, the statement said. It claimed Ugandan commander Colonel Reuben Ikondere was “captured, tried and sentenced to death”. He was then “executed” along with two of his bodyguards. Their bodies were returned to Beni, so they could be repatriated to Uganda, the statement said.