[JURIST] Moise Katumbi, Democratic Republic of Congo [BBC backgrounder] presidential hopeful, was indicted on Thursday for hiring foreign mercenaries. According to a Reuters report, Katumbi is claimed to have hired the mercenaries in a plot against the state [Reuters report] and current president Joseph Kabila. Katumbi called the charges “grotesque lies” meant to destroy his current political campaign [BBC report]. A guilty verdict would mean that Katumbi would be forced to end his presidential campaign. Some believe that this accusation may be a power play by Kabila in attempting to maintain his position as the current president, supporting fears of opposition party members that Kabila will not abide by his constitutional obligation to step down after the end of his second term this December.

The DRC [UN News Centre backgrounder] and surrounding region has seen a high level of conflict in the past decades, and the extension of presidencies has been a contributing issue in many African nations. At the end of January UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [official profile] urged African leaders to avoid using loopholes and undemocratic constitutional changes to “cling to power” [JURIST report]. Last year protests and demonstrations [JURIST report] took place across the DRC to oppose the proposed changes in the law that would allow Kabila to extend his presidential term past the allotted two-year limit, and the government was accused of using excessive force against these protesters.