Congo mulls law review that could affect Tshisekedi tenure

The Congolese are considering a review of the Constitution, which the opposition fears could be used by the Tshisekedi regime to extend his tenure.

President Felix Tshisekedi himself has already weighed in, saying the Democratic Republic of Congo needs a “worthy” constitution.

In Kisangani in the northeast region, which he toured this week, the Congolese leader has been telling audiences that he will set up a commission to reflect on, and draft a new constitution. 

“I will appoint a national commission next year, which will include people from all disciplines, but who will be Congolese, to reflect and give us a constitution that will be adapted to our realities,” he said on Wednesday.

For him, the current laws do not reflect Congolese nationalism. 

“This constitution is not good. It was drafted abroad, by foreigners. Our constitution must be based on our way of life,” he asserted.

The DRC constitution was put in place in 2006 after a referendum. At the time, President Joseph Kabila and the parliamentary majority had called on the Congolese people to vote for it to put an end to the cycle of violent ascension to power and establish a democracy based on elections. 

The opposition, then led by Étienne Tshisekedi, father of the current head of state, called for its rejection. But, in 2015, when certain members of the Kabila regime put forward the idea of reforming it, the opposition vigorously opposed it, forcing the President to retreat. The opposition leaders, including Félix Tshisekedi, suspected that the president was looking for a way to cling on to power.

Now, the debate is back, and the shoe on the other foot. President Tshisekedi's UDPS party has openly launched a campaign to reform the constitution.

At the beginning of October, Augustin Kabuya, the party's interim chairperson and Tshisekedi's righthand man, asserted that the constitution “has demonstrated its limitations in the exercise of public power; it has to evolve to be properly adapted to the political management and progress of Congolese society.”

So far, no one at the UDPS has officially spoken of the intention to change the term limits or mandate of elected officials. DRC law allows a president to serve a maximum of two terms. Tshisekedi is on his second.

The President said: “To change that, only the people can decide, not the president.”

But, within the UDPS, several leaders have in the past expressed the view that the president is in fact only serving three of the five years prescribed in the constitution. For them, the arrangements for setting up a government at the beginning of a term and preparing for elections at the end of a term consume two years of the head of state's mandate. 

“This is not normal," Tshisekedi said.

The Congolese leader believes that the constitution imposes too many and lengthy stages in the setting up of institutions after a new election.

"For example, I was inaugurated on January 20, 2024, but the government only took office in June," he said, adding: "We need a constitution that will not handicap the functioning of the institutions."

Although he asserts that his intention is to give the Congolese a constitution that will last forever, the opposition believes that Tshisekedi simply wants to stay in power.

Olivier Kamitatu, spokesman for opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, said the real aim of changing the constitution is "to enable Félix Tshisekedi and his clan to retain power for life and continue to rule the Congo."

Katumbi has vowed to oppose any change to the laws. 

“This law will not be changed,” he said.

The other opposition supremo, Martin Fayulu, has sworn to "block the road."

"I'll be there with the people. I'm going to stand in the way of Mr Tshisekedi, just as I did with Kabila. We are going to prevent Tshisekedi from touching our constitution," he said.

Fayulu rejects the idea that the constitution prevents institutions from functioning properly.

"Quote me a single article of the constitution that prevents Tshisekedi from working," he said.

The Catholic Church, through its bishops, is also "advising against" it.

“This issue could destabilise the country, especially in the current context, where the country is not stable,” said Monsignor Donatien Nshole, General Secretary of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo.

The cleric criticised "today's politician, who favours only his own interests".

The opposition is unanimous in rejecting any revision of the constitution and within the ruling majority, no one knows how the parties around Félix Tshisekedi will react.