President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo full of praise towards his Best Ally: Vital Kamerhe

Temporarily, Goma was a presidential compound for the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where His Excellency Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo was for the fortnight in order to feel the realities on the ground since the implememtation of the Siege, the President of the Republic has, in his Goma compound, granted an exclusive interview on July 01, 2021 to RTNC and Top Congo through Françoise Buela and Christian Lusakueno. Having outlined the contours of the bellicose environment that prevails in the East of the DRC, the volcanic eruption in Nyiragongo, the meetings with his Rwandan counterpart and especially the corruption which reigns supreme in all state bodies and institutions as well as in the army, with soldiers fighting on an empty stomach at the front, Top Congo Christian Lusakueno would not allow the President to complete the tête-à-tête without a word on Vital Kamerhe, VK – for close friends. To everyone’s surprise, President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi declared that his ex-Chief of Staff would play a leading role for the future of the DRC, yet the new Secretary General of the UNC, Vital political party, Billy Kambale, unfurls on social media citing the involvement of the President of the Republic in the arrest of his former lieutenant.

They may be from the same herd, but not all sheep are the same price. In the aftermath of the 2018 elections, complaints about rigged results gave rise to an unpredicted uproar. The CASH (Cap for Change), a platform formed by the UDPS, UNC and allies to unite forces for the conquest of power in these elections, won the presidency and failed to secure the majority in parliament, compliance with certain provisions of the Nairobi Accord between the UDPS, UNC and Allies, is undermined; UNC president, Vital Kamerhe will not have the prime minister’s office, due to CASH minority in parliament. A coalition with FCC of outgoing president Joseph Kabila, their moral leadership and senator for life, was inevitable. When one doesn’t have what one wants, one does settle with what one has. It was in this context that Vital Kamerhe became the Chief of Staff of the new President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo. Acting as if he was president too(because of his imitations in bad taste – when President Felix is dressed all in blue, VK does the same; since the President waves to the crowd on the right in the company of the 1st Lady, VK repeats the gesture to the left with Amida), VK’s demeanour and glamorous private life made the front pages of the tabloids. As is customary, the bling-bling man above all follows a lifestyle that allows him to show his ease of life, his status as “nouveau riche”, a style opposed to elegance and refinement. The river cruise parties hosting, the exorbitantly priced wedding ring to his lovely wife Amida that broke the piggy bank, an all-England crown-style wedding with Amida Shatur, and other follies by young adults in their thirties that VK wanted to catch up with, drew the crowd attention from the opposite camp. Huge mistake VK!

The loss of the presidency by FCC was the coup fatal inflicted on the parliamentary majority. The secret laboratories emerged with tricks in their sleeves and simmer plans to oust the new President of the Republic and his regime and regain the reins of power. To get there, Vital Kamerhe was the major stumbling block, hindering endeavours to get Felix humiliated. It should be noted that VK has a certain lucidity to be a little ahead compared to others, he is somehow an informed politician; a feline. FCC laboratory experts dug up inventiveness to blow up the Kamerhe cover, not without digging into his life to rid him off the path that leads to Felix. He will have been a political fox sniffing danger, but he failed to see FCC hurricanes rushing towards him at the speed of rockets launched from Cape Canaveral, Baikonur or Mururoa (Kourou). His regular colossal orders for cash outflows under the 100-day program were carefully recorded by the country Reserve bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister. There is no need to query the political obedience of people spearheading these bodies, who were all from FCC ranks. It takes two to tango. During a Cabinet meeting, as President Felix recalled during interview in Goma, the former Prime Minister, Patriarch Ilunga Ilunkamba, drew up the file about the untimely outflows of money from the state coffers, within the framework of this program. He pursued it was necessary to proceed with investigation into the matter. Kings Maker (which ones?), VK became the haunted animal by Former Minister of Justice, Tunda Ya Kasenda. The latter was instructed to launch such enquiries. He sent the file to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, since the President’s Chief of Staff does not enjoy any privileges of jurisdiction, as such; he is dealt with like any other litigant. The PAW (Provisional Arrest Warrant) is launched by the Attorney General. The procrastination relating to the PAW contents ‘drafting being exhausted, Vital Kamerhe, a law abiding citizen, appeared before the Prosecutor in his Office in Matete to be heard. Alas! He won’t get out again; pilloried on top of a 20-year jail sentence he is fighting on appeal until today.

The start of the 100-day trial did not go smoothly; between a vindictive Kamerhe who monopolized the floor to the detriment of his defense team and the unexpected death of the President of the Tribunal, the tone is set. VK repeatedly insisted that he only carried out the orders given to him by his hierarchical superior, the President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi. In the meantime His Excellency the Head of State sent to Prime Minister Ilunkamba the bill-project he needed countersigned for the new appointments in the judiciary and in the army. Ten days from the date of the dispatch, the Prime Minister returned the same bill without his countersignature. FASTHI Béton understood that a large-scale conspiracy was being hatched against him and his regime, now that the boulevard was traffic-free leading to him. Fatshi Béton’s salvation will come from the former President of the Constitutional Court, Benoît Lwamba. The President of the High Court had, in early July, approached the Head of State to request an evacuation for health reasons in Brussels, while on social media echoes of a letter of resignation by Benoit Lwamba, in which he justified his demand by the weight of age (75 years) and for reasons of personal convenience, had been leaked. Yet Benoît Lwamba has been targeted by US sanctions since February 2019 for corruption relating to the general and presidential elections of December 30, 2018.

Benoit Lwamba had confessed to President Félix about the Machiavellian plan being concocted to remove him from power. After VK cited the President’s name several times during the trial, FCC believed that it would be natural for the President of the Republic Natural Judge, the President of the Constitutional Court, to challenge him under Articles 163, 164, 165 and 166 of the constitution. Consciously, Benoit Lwamba decided to open the Pandora’s box and asked for protection from the first citizen of the Republic. Félix Antoine Tshilombo extirpated Benoit Lwamba from national borders aboard the same flight as him, in full lockdown due to Covid last year, bound for Brussels where he lives in exile today. The Head of State pleaded Benoit’s case with the American administration and EU decision makers to ensure Benoit Lwamba protection. The then presidential think-tank, the late Kitenge Yezu, engineered up a plan to send the Prime Minister Ilunkamba to Lubumbashi on due diligence missions. It was within this period of time, according to the order of precedence in the executive, that the First Deputy Prime Minister, Gilbert Kankonde, Minister of the Interior, Security and Customary Affairs, countersigned the President of the Republic ordinances. On July 17, 2020, His Excellency Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Head of State signed a series of ordinances carrying out reshuffles within the armed forces and appointments in the judiciary, mainly to the Constitutional Court, Council of State, Court of Cassation, Courts of Appeal, High Courts as well as in the Public Prosecutor’s Offices attached to these jurisdictions. It is total pandemonium within FCC block. The beginning of tucks of war with all imaginary breaches and violations of the Constitution by the Head of State with Fayulu Madidi and Théodore Ngoyi in the lead; let the world say what it will, notwithstanding the boycott by the rebels of the oath taking by the Constitutional Court judges.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for FCC. Time was up to amend for their mistakes. Shadari Emmanuel’s forceful “WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED” shift the way for negotiations while Fatshi’s popularity is on the rise. Olive Lembe, who took a dim view of VK’s wife Amida, calling her a foreigner during the 2018 campaign, was dispatched to visit her by FCC; the latter took similar steps with CENCO. This is how Father Shole visited Kamerhe in prison – the clergy who were loud and clear that embezzlers of USD 15Mil in oil retrocessions be brought to justice. The goal is to set the course for Amida to curb her husband Vital Kamerhe, who is imprisoned in Makala and still angry and disdained FCC. It proved to be a successful bet! VK executioners, Nehemiah Mwilanya, Shadari and a group of others offered their mea culpa for their guilt to VK in prison. It was too late; the damage has already been done. FCC is being destroyed everywhere by the head of state’s “remontada”. Everything turned in his favour. Nowhere did Mabunda and Tambwe Muamba pull out forceps to challenge the Béton.

Poker-liar for the most part with a much accelerated level of bluffing, Vital Kamerhe still enjoys the privileges of his yesterday ally, the current President of the Republic, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo. But the popular taunts from video-clip footage that wreaked havoc on social media, displaying his nephew Massaro (named after AC Milan scorer Daniel Massaro, who destroyed FC Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final), is still fresh. He was seen building castles using US Dollars with the help of his son as a surveying tool; these images haunt the memories of the poorest Congolese, who sweet blood to meet the daily dietary needs for their offspring, let alone “DIATA”, this black foufou miserably cooked by several mothers thanks to cassava, manioc and maize left overs or both mixed, which they collect in mills. Where is the seriousness? When empathy is no longer essential for the quality of relationship between fellow citizens! A person who is incapable of empathy is worthless. When one can’t imagine himself in the other’s shoes, contact is difficult to take shape. Trust between two people arises from openness and the ability to feel what one is experiencing.

       “The song smoothness by a swan is the confirmation of its awesome credentials“