Cardinal Ambongo prioritises peace over DRC constitutional reform

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo painted a grim picture of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Speaking to the faithful at Notre-Dame du Congo Cathedral, the Archbishop of Kinshasa condemned the persistent insecurity, armed conflicts, the presence of foreign forces on Congolese soil, the poverty of the population, and the resurgence of the Ebola epidemic. Against this backdrop, he argued that revising the constitution is not a priority.

“Do we truly believe that changing the constitution—touted as a solution to all these dark pictures—do you really think that changing the constitution, with the aim of a third term, is the most appropriate response to the tragedies of the Congolese people? Given the gravity of the current situation, we see neither the necessity nor the urgency of constitutional change. The priority for the Democratic Republic of Congo is peace. That is why the National Episcopal Conference of Congo continues to work and will always commit itself to creating the conditions for a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue,” Ambongo stated.

Mobilisation of the opposition

This position is also supported by the Lay Coordination Committee, the Cenco, and the Church of Christ in Congo, which similarly believe that a constitutional reform is neither necessary nor urgent in the current context.

Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, former minister and senior member of the Common Front for Congo—the platform of former President Joseph Kabila—was present at the celebration and reaffirmed her organisation’s opposition to any modification of Article 220 of the constitution.

“Article 220 is intangible, and the constitution clearly states that any elected president has the right to a single renewable mandate. After these two terms, one must leave power and hand over to a successor chosen by the Congolese people. That said, all political parties and platforms that make up the FCC will now take part in all demonstrations to prevent any change to the constitution. We will be in the streets on July 8 to defend and protect our constitution,” Mushobekwa said.

“We will be in the streets on July 8”

Similar sentiments came from some citizen movements. Plamédie Bamata of the Patriotism movement called on Congolese youth to join the opposition protest scheduled for July 8.

“We are determined to put an end to this third-term project, for which Congolese have already shed much blood fighting for this constitution to exist. We will be in the streets on July 8. We will march to the Palace of the Nation to show our discontent and say no to any project of balkanisation of our country,” Bamata insisted.

After being adopted by both chambers of parliament, the bill setting the modalities for organising a referendum on the constitutional change has been sent to the president for promulgation.

The government and the majority present this law as a text meant to legally frame the use of a referendum.

The opposition, for its part, believes it could open the door to a revision of the fundamental law.