The spokesman for the provincial government of Kinshasa, Therese Olenga, said the decision was made in consultation with the provincial committee for security, and is intended to “preserve public order and social peace.”

UDPS candidate Etienne Tshisekedi rejected a joint bid of the opposition in the forthcoming presidential election during a press conference in Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, on Saturday.

Etienne Tshisekedi est arrivé jeudi soir à Kisangani, en provenance de l’Afrique du Sud. Le président national de l’Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social a atterri à l’aéroport du chef-lieu de la Province Orientale vers 22h00, à bord d’un avion d’une compagnie sud-africaine.

During an interview with the French service of the Voice of America on Thursday, Etienne Tshisekedi denied telling his supporters to use violence last week. The presidential candidate repeated his claim that he is the current president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The two leading candidates in the upcoming presidential election crossed paths in eastern Congo on Monday. Both President Joseph Kabila and Etienne Tshisekedi arrived in Goma, North Kivu Province, on the same day to hold campaign events.

Still embroiled in a controversy over inflammatory statements he made during an interview on Sunday, Etienne Tshisekedi made new threats of violence during a speech in Kisangani on Friday, telling his supporters to rise up and attack the police if they feel they are being mistreated.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende called into question the mental health of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi on Monday, a day after the main challenger to President Joseph Kabila in the November 28 presidential election made incoherent and incendiary statements during an interview.

Le président national de l’Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, Etienne Tshisekedi, s’est autoproclamé président de la République démocratique du Congo et a appelé ses militants à attaquer les prisons de la RDC pour libérer des militants de l’UDPS, qu’il dit être incarcérés pour des raisons politiques, si les autorités ne les libèrent pas au plus tard mardi.

The former DR Congo Vice-President, who lost the second round of the 2006 presidential elections to President Joseph Kabila, remains a political force to be reckoned with. His support is actively being sought by opposition candidates running for president in this year’s one-round presidential election.

One person was reported killed on Tuesday in Kinshasa after police fired live ammunition to disperse a protest by members of UDPS. The unrest came a day after Etienne Tshisekedi, the leader of the UDPS, registered as a presidential candidate for the November election.