The imminent fall of a tribal clan, and the signs that do not lie

Since the creation in Goma of the Front pour la refondation de la nation (FRN), which has replaced the AFC, the camp of the Tshisekedi regime in Kinshasa has been gripped by agitation and panic. The unrest has deepened further after a series of raids carried out by Belgian police at several residences of people close to Félix Tshisekedi.

A day later, the American newspaper The New York Times published revelations about the Kinshasa regime's corruption manoeuvres targeting certain White House advisers, in an attempt to win the Trump administration's favour for its narrative. In the same reporting, the Angolan journalist Hariana is alleged to have received more than $2.3 million from the DRC presidency to ask loaded questions favourable to the Tshisekedi regime, and to smear and demonise Rwanda before the Trump administration.

The creation of the FRN, the raids and the wave of revelations have triggered genuine panic. Several political analysts see in them the signs of the Tshisekedi regime's collapse. Meanwhile, some members of the government and stalwarts of the regime have begun making arrangements to flee the country, while others, out of opportunism, are looking to cross over to the FRN.

We hope that President Joseph Kabila Kabange and the FRN will not make the mistake of welcoming aboard the opportunistic political turncoats who branded the M23 a Rwandan movement: people with no convictions, who sell themselves to the highest bidder.

The FRN must avoid pouring new wine into old wineskins. The Congo will rise again through men and women of conviction, not through materialistic, opportunistic vultures.

Since 1960, the DRC has been trapped in a vicious circle because of its political class. If the FRN follows the example of Rwanda's RPF by betting on the quality of its people and on a clear vision, it will mean the DRC's deliverance and take-off.

Félix Tshisekedi is acutely aware that his fall is imminent. Private jet movements are reported between Kinshasa and the United Arab Emirates, allegedly to shelter the last of the spoils. Reports also point to a build-up of mercenaries in Katanga, the DRC's economic heartland, who are said to have helped him finance the massacres of civilians in the Kivus and his slanderous propaganda campaign against Rwanda.

According to the same reports, weapons are being handed out to young members of the ruling UDPS party in several towns and localities across Katanga. Like a drunken man, Félix Tshisekedi seems determined to go down in a bloodbath of innocent civilians.