* Political chaos threatens President Kabila’s rule
* Opposition figure has been in hiding after treason charge
* U.N. report accuses Rwanda of backing eastern conflict
By Jonny Hogg
KINSHASA, Sept 8 (Reuters) – A top opposition figure in the
Democratic Republic of Congo wanted by the government on treason
charges is seeking asylum in the South African embassy in
neighbouring Burundi, a spokesman for the Congolese government
said on Saturday.
The government accuses Roger Lumbala, a Congolese MP and
former rebel, of helping Rwanda support a rebellion in eastern
Congo that has deepened political divisions in the capital
Kinshasa, where the government and the opposition accuse each
other of fanning the flames of the distant war.
The worsening political chaos threatens to undermine
President Joseph Kabila’s ability to push through reforms in the
country – a potential mining and oil giant – after his
reelection in flawed polls last year.
Lambert Mende, a spokesman for the Congolese government,
said Lumbala had been trying to win asylum at the South African
embassy in Bujumbura, the Burundian capital, and had evaded
arrest by Burundian security forces whom Kinshasa had asked to
detain him.
“We’re convinced he is in a group who are helping the
Rwandans in North Kivu,” Mende said, referring to the province
where the M23 rebels operate.
Continued…
