| 13th
February 2012 -Congolese Women
Speak Out:
Death of Kabila deal-maker
leaves void in Congo
By Jonny Hogg
KINSHASA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The death of President Joseph
Kabila's chief adviser has removed a secretive but powerful
deal-maker from Democratic Republic of Congo's politics
and mining business, and deprived the leader of a trusted
aide as he seeks to form a new government.
Augustin Katumba Mwanke, 48, died with four other people
in a plane crash on Sunday that also injured the Central
African country's financeminister.
Katumba was regarded by many as Kabila's right-hand man
in politics and business. His absence leaves the president
struggling to stabilise his vast, chaotic nation, which
is a major minerals producer, after he won troubled elections
late last year.
Katumba had spent some 15 years in a mix of official and
unofficial positions, ranging from provincial governor and
negotiator of peace accords to fixer of multi-billion dollar
deals with mining firms and foreign governments.
"Democratic Republic of Congo has lost half the presidency,"
said Tara O'Connor of the London-based Africa Risk Consulting
group.
"Without (Katumba) Mwanke you have the potential for
further policy drift, further prevarication on decision-making
and great uncertainty," she added.
When he died, Katumba's only official position was that
of a newly re-elected member of parliament.
But his close relationship with the president extended back
to the war years before Kabila's 2001 accession to power,
when Kabila was the military commander and Katumba the governor
of Katanga, the copper-rich province the pair both came
from.
Since then, the two have remained close and Katumba rose
to become a quiet but highly influential figure at the heart
of Kabila's presidential office, which diplomats and analysts
say often wields more clout than the government on key issues.
A leaked 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable said Katumba was seen
by many as "the power behind the throne".
This influence was confirmed by a Congolese official, who
knows the president and also knew Katumba well.
"(Kabila) trusted him a lot and he was very loyal ...
Finding someone else like (him) will be very difficult,"
the official told Reuters, asking not to be named.
Katumba was killed when the Gulfstream jet he was travelling
in overshot the runway in the eastern town of Bukavu.
On Monday, hundreds gathered at the Kinshasa headquarters
of Kabila's PPRD party as Katumba's coffin was put on display,
draped in the party's blue and yellow flag.
Kabila won re-election in a Nov. 28 vote last year, but
the poll was rejected by his rivals as fraudulent and criticised
as flawed and chaotic by many international observers.
FEARS OF POWER STRUGGLE
After losing some 40 percent of its legislative seats to
rivals in the election, Kabila's camp must now secure a
majority in parliament through a coalition with many other
parties.
"Katumba would have been a key power-broker in these
negotiations," said Tom Wilson, senior consultant at
the advisory firm Africa Practice.
"His removal from the political scene at this stage
will almost certainly result in a power struggle among politicians
keen to fill the void left by his death," he added.
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Katumba was temporarily
sidelined at one stage after being accused in a 2002 United
Nations report of being part of a Congolese elite that profited
from the plundering of the country's resources while a civil
war as underway.
He was also a divisive figure within Kabila's political
circle, where some senior officials complained that he had
isolated the president, according to the leaked U.S. cables.
However, even when removed from any government posts, Katumba
retained the president's ear and the power to act.
"It's going to be quite a shock, we'll have to find
someone else to help us out," a senior official from
a mining firm operating in Congo told Reuters, asking not
to be named.
"He used to talk directly to the president. Now the
only chance is to go directly through the government,"
he added.
Katumba was also a key player in overseeing negotiations
for Congo's $6 billion minerals-for-infrastructure deal
with China.
"Every major player in the mining sector has negotiated
with him or through him, and his death will reshape power
dynamics in the sector," Africa Practice's Wilson said.
"It creates uncertainty for projects reliant on his
continued political support, and more broadly across the
sector."
Kazakh miner ENRC, one of the largest foreign miners operating
in Congo, is in the final stages of tying up its settlement
with Canadian firm First Quantum Minerals ending a months-long
dispute over several key assets, in a $1.25 billion deal
that will require Kinshasa's blessing
Victoria Dove Dimandja - Congolese
Human Right Campaigner
Liberation
Congolese Women Group
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