Congolese security forces break up demonstrations against constitutional amendments

Witnesses and opposition politicians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say that security forces broke up a crowd outside of Kinshasa’s parliament building on Friday. The protesters were against planned changes to the constitution that they say would allow President Felix Tshisekedi to run for a third term.

A large group of opposition politicians, including past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, organized the sit-in. They are part of Coalition Article 64 (C64).

Locals told Reuters that the protest got violent when police used tear gas and real guns to get rid of the protesters who were throwing rocks.

Jean-Baptiste Kasekwa, a member of Fayulu’s political party, told Reuters that many protesters were hurt, including some well-known politicians. He said that since dawn, police, the army, and rebels from Tshisekedi’s party had been stationed outside of parliament to stop the sit-in.

In a post on X, Delly Sesanga’s media team said that he had been shot in the leg.

A request for feedback from the public to the government of Congo about whether or not security forces used live rounds was not answered right away. A police officer who was at the scene told reporters that cops had taken action to get things back in order.

The protest happened three days after Congo’s National Assembly passed a bill that would let changes to the constitution be put to a public vote. Opposition leaders say this is meant to make it possible for Tshisekedi to run for a third term in a row by getting rid of the limits on presidential terms.

According to the Congolese law, Tshisekedi can’t run for office again after two terms. The first time was in 2018 and the second time was in 2023.

This month, Tshisekedi talked about the chance of a third term. He told reporters that he would run again if the people of Congo asked him to.