A former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, has lashed out at the government of his successor – calling it a “dictatorship”.
The 53-year-old made a 45-minute speech live on YouTube from an unspecified location a day after the Senate lifted his immunity from prosecution.
DR Congo’s authorities intend to charge the former president with treason and war crimes, linking him to the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who have taken control of several towns in the east.
Kabila, in power between 2001 and 2019, said he had broken his silence because he felt the unity of the country was at risk.
Analysts say any trial of Kabila could further destabilise the country, which has been battling the M23 rebellion since 2012.
The government of President Félix Tshisekedi has not responded to the speech in which Kabila also set out a 12-point plan that he said could help end decades of insecurity in the mineral-rich east of DR Congo.
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