Kabila cracks the whip on opposition

KINSHASA, CONGO, May 27: The new leaders of Congo on Monday extended a ban on all political party activities to the capital, threatening to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law. “We are banning political party activities in Kinshasa, not the parties themselves,” Deo Bugera, the secretary-general of the ruling alliance told mediapersons.

Kabila had banned political parties outright elsewhere during his seven-month sweep through the country, which ended when he toppled dictator Mobutu Sese Seko from power and declared himself President on May 17.

Even so, the move was bound to undermine confidence in Kabila’s ability to share power with others who had opposed Mobutu, and to anger Western nations who had pressed him to introduce democracy.