DRC Congos main opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi, has died in Brussels aged 84. Étienne Tshisekedi was set to oversee transition of presidential power. He was set to take the top post in a transitional council agreed at power transition talks in December under a deal that would pave the way for outgoing President Joseph Kabila to leave power in 2017. The fragile political deal aimed at averting serious civil conflict has now received a serious setback following his death. Tshisekedi had been battling health issues for the past few years and was receiving medical treatment in Belgium.
His death deprives the opposition of its principal figurehead as talks over implementation of the December accord falter. Tshisekedi’s 84-year had a long life as DRC Congo’s opposition leader where he challenged Presidents: Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent Kabila, and the current and outgoing President Joseph Kabila.

Tshisekedi went to Belgium in August 2014 and stayed there for almost two years. He returned to the DRC in mid-2016 shortly after the formation of the. The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party said he went to Brussels last week for a medical check-up. DRC Congo’s Elections scheduled for Nov. 2016 have been postponed under huge controvery caused by failure by Kabila administration to organize election and the end of his term. The incumbent”Kabila” has also opted to remain in office until polls can be held.

Tshisekedi served as a minister under Mobutu Sese Seko, for almost 20 years before helping found the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party (UDPS), the first organised opposition platform in Zaire, in 1982. He was named prime minister four times in the 1990s as Mobutu contended with pro-democratic currents in the country, but Tshisekedi never lasted more than a few months as he repeatedly clashed with the autocrat.
He finished runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 presidential election. International observers said the vote was marred by fraud and Tshisekedi’s supporters have referred to him ever since as the “elected president”. Tseshikedi’s fatherly figure and DRC Congo’s ” national icon” will be highly missed, because he had the power to unite a divided opposition in the Congo and enabled them to participate in the peace talks with President Kabila. DRC has never experienced a peaceful transition of power. Kabila's refusal to stand down when his final term expired in December 2016 has raised huge fears that the country will slide back into civil war.

Africa Team