Tshisekedi security chiefs detained in 'assassination plot' probe

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are cracking down on senior military officials over a suspected plot against President Felix...

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are cracking down on senior military officials over a suspected plot against President Felix Tshisekedi.

Several senior soldiers in the Congolese army (FARDC), including head of the President’s security Franck Ntumba, and presidential adviser Christian Tshiwewe, have been arrested on allegations of a conspiracy to assassinate the head of state.

The Congolese army has not formally commented on Gen Ntumba, but sources claim that his arrest on July 17 is linked to that of Tshiwewe, who was openly accused by the ruling UDPS party of plotting the assassination of the president.

UDPS secretary-general Augustin Kabuya claimed these arrests were based on that suspicion, while addressing activists and supporters of the Congolese head of state on July 15.“On the day we arrested former Chief of Staff Christian Tshiwewe, I heard people say: 'You see, they've started arresting generals from a certain community. Let's be clear, when President Félix Tshisekedi promoted these generals, did he do so on behalf of their communities? But where does this discourse come from? Apparently, people do not see the gravity of this situation. Someone is sitting there thinking about how to kill the president, who is a father, a grandfather, the first institution of the republic, and no one is questioning him?" said the official, who is a confidant of the president.

Before becoming a presidential adviser, Gen Tshiwewe was army chief of staff until December 2024.

On his part, General Ntumba had been earlier in the year adversely mentioned by Israeli and American security agencies, who allegedly warned the Congolese leader, according to an earlier report by Reuters.

It all started in January this year, when Israeli-American businessman Moti Kahana met the Congolese president on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to warn him about a coup plot purportedly involving Israelis.

Kahana allegedly handed over the names of the alleged plotters to Tshisekedi in an envelope, according to the businessman and two other people involved.

Kahana told Reuters he was aware that Washington had a number of live interests in Congo, and after returning from Davos he decided to try to arrange another meeting with Tshisekedi.

Three Americans had been sentenced to death by a Congolese military court in September 2024 for participating in a separate, failed coup in May last year. Efforts to free them by the Biden government and the Trump administration had gained little traction.

Read: How a US mission to free jailed Americans, push Trump deal in Congo unravelledThe recent arrests have come amid heightened tensions between Tshisekedi and former President Joseph Kabila.

There have been allegations that the arrests have an ethnic dimension but FARDC spokesperson Maj-Gen Sylvain Ekenge said on national television station RTNC that “each officer arrested had individually committed acts contrary to the law or military regulations.”Maj-Gen Ekenge stated that the officers were arrested for “serious breaches” of military discipline, reaffirming the army's commitment to rigour, integrity and respect for the law. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).