UN urges DRC leader to keep promise to step down

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has urged Congolese President Joseph Kabila, to abide by an agreement to leave power.

This was after at least eight people died in protests against his rule. 
 
President Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, signed a deal with opposition groups a year ago agreeing to step down once his current term ends and new elections are held.
 
But violence has escalated in the troubled African nation after the date of the new vote was pushed back to December 2018, prompting fears that Joseph Kabila may seek to extend his rule.  

The UN boss urged all Congolese political actors to remain fully committed to the 31 December 2016 political agreement, which remains the only viable path to the holding of elections, the peaceful transfer of power and the consolidation of stability in the DRC.


SOURCE: NEWS24
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