CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA: IRIN Weekly Round-up 44
DRC: Ugandan intervention foils anti-Wamba coup attempt
The situation in the northeastern DRC town of Bunia was "tense and
confused" on Monday following an attempt to overthrow Professor Ernest
Wamba dia Wamba, the leader of the governing Rassemblement congolais pour
la democratie-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-ML). Bunia has been growing
increasingly fraught over the last few months after Wamba suspended his
two deputies, Mbusa Nyamwisi and Ateenyi Tibasima, accusing them of
planning a mutiny. So-called reconciliation talks were held in the Ugandan
capital, Kampala, last month, and a declaration was signed, agreeing that
the two would be appointed respectively as Wamba's first and second
vice-presidents. But on 4 November, the tension spilled over into armed
combat. Militiamen loyal to Mbusa Nyamwisi surrounded Wamba's residence
and opened fire in the vicinity.
However, on Monday, Colette Ramm, Wamba's adviser told IRIN the Ugandan
government had condemned the coup attempt and announced its support for
Wamba, after reinstating him as the movement's leader. On Wednesday, in an
announcement broadcast over Bunia radio, the Ugandan army commander in the
DRC, General Katumba Wamala, told the people of Bunia that the army was
trying the resolve the leadership problems within the RCD-ML "without the
shedding of civilians' blood". He called for cooperation and calm to stop
"suffering, chaos and incitement". "Hence demonstrations in support of one
side or another are banned," he said.
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