Corneille Nangaa |
The United States said Friday it will refuse visas to the Democratic
Republic of Congo’s election chief and top judge on charges that they
undermined long-awaited presidential polls.
Washington said it wanted to send a clear signal of the need for
accountability in the conflict-torn nation but stressed that it will
still work with the controversially elected new president, Felix
Tshisekedi.
The United States said it would reject any visa request from five
senior Congolese figures as well as their immediate family members over
“involvement in significant corruption relating to the election
process.”
They include Corneille Nangaa, president of the Independent National
Election Commission, Constitutional Court president Benoit Lwamba Bindu
and Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko, president of the National Assembly.
The State Department said it was also imposing visa restrictions on
an unspecified number of other military and government officials over
human rights abuses related to the election.
“These individuals enriched themselves through corruption, or
directed or oversaw violence against people exercising their rights of
peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” the State Department said
in a statement.
“They operated with impunity at the expense of the Congolese people
and showed a blatant disregard for democratic principles and human
rights,” it said.
– ‘Respect for human rights’ –
The United States and other international players
had been holding their breath for the December 30 election, which
ultimately marked the first peaceful transfer of power in sub-Saharan
Africa’s most vast country since independence from Belgium in 1960.
Martin Fayulu, a former oil executive, alleged widespread fraud and
accused Tshisekedi of collaborating with outgoing president Joseph
Kabila.
Despite recognizing concerns over the election, regional and world
powers led by South Africa quickly coalesced behind Tshisekedi in hopes
of preventing greater instability.
Fayulu had accused Nangaa, the election chief, of breaking the law to
help engineer the election results. Nangaa hit back after the country’s
powerful Catholic church raised doubts about the election, saying it
was in no position to know the vote tallies.
The opposition leader had earlier also accused Kabila of stacking the
top court to have his way with the election. Kabila was
constitutionally barred from seeking a third term and won praise for
eventually stepping down — but he stayed in power even after his second
mandate ended in 2016.
Fayulu has maintained that he is the elected president of the
resource-rich nation and has maintained pressure, tweeting on Thursday,
“I say it and I’ll repeat it — I will not let Joseph Kabila take the
destiny of an entire people hostage.”
The State Department, however, said that its actions were “specific to certain individuals.”
It said the United States was committed to working with the new
government “to realize its expressed commitment to end corruption and
strengthen democracy and accountability, and respect for human rights.”
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