DRC: Court affirms Moise Katumbi's Candidacy

A top court in Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, 30th October, threw out a suit seeking to bar opposition politician Moise Katumbi from running for president on the grounds that he was not Congolese.

Moise Katumbi, a Congolese businessman and politician, a former governor of Katanga Province, located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is running against incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking a second term in office.

The case was brought against Katumbi by his fellow presidential candidate, Noel TshNiani, who argued that he did not have Congolese nationality.

The Constitution of DRC limits the eligibility for the presidency to natural-born citizens of the country and dual nationality is not recognised under Congolese law.

However, during proceedings, Katumbi’s lawyer argued that there was no proof his client held any nationality other than Congolese and the  Constitutional Court ruled that Tshiani's suit was "unfounded".

Tsiani is also the initiator of a draft law that, if passed, would allow only citizens whose parents were both Congolese to hold high political office.

Katumbi was once an ally of Tshisikedi, but left the coalition earlier this year, fuelling suspicions that the proposed law targeted him.