Who wanted Joseph Kabila’s advisor out ?

Written by Gael Masengi

Senior politicians at the Congolese presidency privately accused Joseph Kabila’s influential advisor Augustin Katumba Mwanke (AKM) of “planning a coup d’état” and wanted him “immediately arrested and further investigated”, the presidency leaked document recently obtained by “Gael On Media” through our anonymous contact in the UK show. 

A non-signed leaked document dated from 2010, titled:“Safety Intelligence regarding His Excellency Mr President of Republic” subtitled“Strategy of enemy to destabilize president Joseph Kabila”,written by a former DRC ambassador to Tanzania and the presidential House hold Ambassador, Theodore Mugalu, suggested that a measure of prevention of an alleged coup against the commandant- in-chef had to be taken.

“A project of assassination is underway in which Joseph Kabila is the prime target”, wrote Mugalu.

“It had started since ‘ the Sun City Peace Agreements’ in South Africa, Augustin Katumba Mwanke publicly shows his desire to either succeed or maliciously replace Joseph Kabila as the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo” read ‘Chapter one’ of the document.

“To establish his authority, dominate the [Congolese] political arena and monopolized the supreme power, AKM is rapidly and criminally pilling up personal wealth instead of governmental’s. Mugalu underlined some of his properties; an entire street is named after Katumba in Sunning Hill, Sandton (a luxurious residential area of Northern Johannesburg), South Africa. Among the accomplices, Evariste Boshab, the ruling party’s General Secretary is cited to have transferred millions of euros from and to ‘AKM’s’ various European bank accounts. Nationally, Mugalu accused Katumba of demoralising and poisoning Kabila’s military entourage and internationally Mwanke was said to alienate his [Kabila’s] image to the western diplomats and citing him of enriching Iran with uranium. The classified document also notes that, in early 2009, apparently the French was convinced by the above accusations, France’s ambassador in Kinshasa reportedly qualified Joseph Kabila as unfit and difficult to work with.

“[Joseph] Kabila is a burden for his country because He shows not to be in measure to intelligently work with foreign powers [Europeans]…fortunately ministers and other government members can do the job” referring to Marcelin Chisambo (South Kivu governor) as a better example.

“To finalised his malicious plan of assassinating President Kabila” Mugalu notes “he [AKM] sought help from the French ambassador to compensate [the neighbouring] Angola in order to establish a military base in the Angolan-Congolese bordered city of Tshikapa (stating C.I.A as the source). He will latter initiate a rebellion attack from the city, draw Kabila in the battlefield and shoot him down”

Theodore Mugalu talked about what he called a “diplomatic detoxification”, hewrote that due to the undermining accusations, in whichthe president was being considered from then, by the westerners as ‘a less reliable political partner’ whom AKM helped to portray as uranium dealer and the enemy of world peace. He also proposed a preventive measure had to be taken and the guilty have to be seriously prosecuted. 

“It’s important to urgently stop in a robust way this malicious plan against President Joseph Kabila by proceeding to an immediate arrest of Mister Augustin Katumba Mwanke….along with his well-known accomplices such as Evariste Boshab (parliament speaker), Janine Mabunda, Carole Agito (national assurance)….and many top officials at public enterprises"

“It is up to us, Pierre Lumbi and [myseIf] Theodore Mugalu to immediately erase that bad image of the president by the mean of diplomatic detoxification”.

As a pastor, Mugalu concludes with biblical verses: “Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among great men” - Proverbs 25:6,7. “Remove thewicked before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness”.

AKM’s sudden death.

On the afternoon of Sunday 13^th 2012, the news of a private plane crash broke; on board four of Joseph Kabila key associates including Augustin Katumba Mwanke (senior advisor at the time and elected Member of Parliament). AKM, the man once known as ‘Dick Cheney of DRC’ was confirmed dead along with two South African pilots; among the seriously wounded was governor Marcelin Chisambo, Matata Ponyo and Antoine Ghonda, finance minister and itinerant ambassador respectively. The horrible accident of these top government officials amid political unrest in the country obviously left many people wondering. A close source to Marcelin Chisambo said that the governor was attending a wedding ceremony hours before the crash, he was taken by surprise to a destination he wasn’t allowed to ask. The accident got mixed reactions from the members of opposition and public at large, many political analysts secretly called it an “obvious” case of “eliminate or be eliminated”. 

“It may have been a planned hit as he [Katumba] was being accused of planning something against Kabila” said an analyst who asked not to be named.

The man who once was seen as the brain behind the large central African country’s wealth died in a blink of an eye and got a quick burial.