The reactions are raining following the announcement of the discovery this Thursday of the remains of Chérubin Okende, part of the party Together for the Republic of Moise Katumbi, on the avenue of heavyweights in Kinshasa.
Read also: DRC: MP Cherubin Okende found dead the day after his disappearance in Kinshasa
Caution and emotion in the chancelleries a few minutes after the confirmation of what at first seemed like a rumor. The first to speak among the ambassadors, Jean-Marc Chataigner, Ambassador of the European Union to the Democratic Republic of Congo, is dismayed.
“I learned with dismay this morning of the assassination of the former transport minister & spokesperson for Ensemble pour la République Chérubin Okende. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. Finding and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous crime must be the top priority.”
The declared presidential candidate Augustin Matata Ponyo denounces a regime of terror: “I denounce with the utmost energy the assassination of Chérubin Okende, collaborator of Moïse Katumbi. This is all the more serious as he would have been kidnapped within the precincts of the Constitutional Court. Who would have believed it ! We have returned to a regime of terror and unspeakable dictatorship. My condolences to the bereaved family and to the Party Together”.
The other declared candidate Seth Kikuni did not go with dead hands either: “We now have an idea about the biggest kidnapper and assassin in the country. The elimination of Chérubin Okende will not be without consequences”.
Among the executives of the majority in power, Steve Mbikayi, Initiator of FP 2023 and founder of the Labor Party, is among the few to speak out: “I am appalled by the assassination of my friend Chérubin Okende. A remarkable intelligence and a man of peace. Like his wife and children, I am inconsolable. My deepest condolences to his biological and political family.”
In civil society, we note the muscular exit of Bienvenu Matumo de la Lucha.
“The assassination of the opponent Chérubin Okende is a state crime. The socialist regime of the UDPS installs a bloodthirsty dictatorship which kills and assassinates all opposition and dissident voices. I am very shocked and I express my deepest condolences to the biological, political and close family of Okende. Justice must be served for Cherubino.
Your authoritarian practices and methods will not undermine the commitments to the Republic. Peace to the soul of Okende and may the land of our ancestors be sweet and light to him”.
Jean Claude Katende, president of the African Association for Human Rights (ASADHO), also cries out for justice: “The Government is called upon to use all the means of the State so that we know the truth about the assassination of Cherub Okende. I condemn this act and demand that its perpetrators be identified and brought to justice.”
