Catholic Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo oppose the amendment of the Constitution

The Catholic Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo issued an open letter on September 14th calling upon the country’s politicians to respect the 2006 constitution. There are attempts to amend article 220 of the Congo DR constitution which bans the amendment of certain key provisions, including the presidential terms of office. The article states: “The republican form of the State, the principle of universal suffrage, the representative form of government, the number and length of the terms of office of the President of the Republic, the independence of the Judicial Power, the pluralism of political parties and trade unions may not form the object of a Constitutional amendment.”

For some months now pro-government politicians and members of parliament have used the media and toured different parts of the country to convince the Congolese people of the necessity to amend the constitution, and particularly article 220, in order to suit the interests of the party in power. The amendment would allow President Joseph Kabila, whose second and last term of office ends in 2016, to seek a third term.  The President has not publicly announced any plans to stand again, but the fact that his supporters have made public appeals for him to change the constitution before his second term expires, has raised concerns not only to the Bishops but also within the opposition who have warned of demonstrations should  he (the President) attempt to hold on power.

Article 70 of the constitution states that, “the President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years which is renewable only once.”

In the open letter the bishops called upon President Kabila to respect constitutional term limits and not seek re-election in the 2016 presidential election. They warned that any attempt to amend the constitution and remain in power could destabilize the country which is still recovering from many years of political chaos. "To seek to violate these provisions would set a dangerous precedent on the long road to peace and national unity," the letter emphasized.  They called upon  priests to convey the message to all Christians and asked the faithful to be vigilant in opposing, by all legal and peaceful means, any attempt to modify the constitution. In an earlier statement released in July this year, the Bishops called upon the government to provide the necessary financial and material resources to ensure that elections take place within the time-frame provided by the constitution, which would mean that presidential elections should be held not later than December 2016.

The President of the Senate, Léon Kengo wa Dondo, has added his voice to that of the Bishops, warning against the constitutional amendment, and stating that it could threaten peace and national cohesion.

The government has reacted to the Bishops’ letter angrily, accusing them of succumbing to foreign influence. Government spokesman, Lambert Mende, said last week that the bishops had overstepped their ecclesiastic role. The bishops issued the letter in the Vatican during their traditional visit to the Holy See which takes place every five years. Mr. Mende picked on that and noted that the church had had a long history of interference in domestic politics. “To judge by the place chosen by the Congolese bishops to sign and release their letter, it is clear that once again the major actors in the history of our country wanted to please agents of foreign influence,” he said. The bishops have not yet responded to the accusations, but demonstrations against the amendment of the constitution have already started across the country. Early this month the Supreme Court sentenced the Secretary General of the Union for the Congolese Nation Party, Jean-Bertrand Ewanga, to one year in prison for organizing a rally against what he called “attempts by President Joseph Kabila to amend the constitution for his own benefits”. Mr. Ewanga was convicted on grounds that he insulted the President by calling him a thief and a traitor at the rally, but his lawyer said the sentence was politically motivated because there is no such crime against the Head of State in the Congolese penal code.

The government has gone ahead with its plans to revise the constitution. On September 15th it presented a bill to the national assembly, seeking an amendment to Article 197 which provides for the powers of the provinces and the election of provincial deputies.

 The eyes of the international community are now focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo to see how these political maneuvers will end and what consequences they will have on the country, given its history characterized by civil wars, political turmoil, and human rights violations.

John Baptist Tumusiime