Thursday, August 22, 2013

DR Congo: Chantal Faida requests Presidential consideration and justice.

Chantal Faida blogs  (  I have used Goggle to translate and have attempted to clean up the copy. Any errors are mine ) Some background info. from Charly on the haste of the conviction.

The Supreme Court has sat on Monday 12 August to consider offenses the accused had allegedly committed.The accused felt he had not had enough time to prepare his defense. The hearing resumed on Tuesday evening and the verdict was guilty. 
Charly Kasereka

OPEN LETTER TO JOSEPH KABILA ABOUT THE CONVICTION OF DEPUTY MUHINDO NZANGI

                                           MP Muhindo in front of the Supreme Court of Justice. Rights third Photos
Mr President of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Subject: My Indignation about the arrest of the deputy Nzangi Butondo elected representative of Goma.

Mr. President,

As a courtesy normally I  would  begin this letter with the formula introductory protocol known to all: "I have the honor." However, the intensity my anger makes me come straight to the point. Moreover, how is it possible to express the honor when we are stabbed in the back by those who are supposed to protect us?


Indeed, Mr. President, your intelligence and security forces inflicted this nightmare and took from us, our venerable and honorable national representative Nzangi Butondo, the elected MP for Goma, a member of MSR (Social Movement Renewal) party and part of your majority. Sunday, August 11, 2013 around midnight after his comments on a string of local political issues. He was forcibly transported by the first available plane to Kinshasa. An elected representative treated with no respect. I think some details of the workings of a democracy escape you. The law is clear on this subject, the alleged offender is innocent until their conviction.

In your opinion, is saying publicly that you are the Supreme Commander of the Congolese army, a disclosure of a state secret vital to the defense of the Republic. O
r is it a threat to the internal and external security of the nation? It is known to all that you are the Supreme Commander. Saying so does not, in our humble opinion, constitute grounds for arrest.


I'm sure you have too much business on your table to answer my letter, but I would just like to say to you, as a loyal daughter of Goma, it would be unforgivable to me remain silent about a verdict some people are already call immoral, corrupt, rotten, vile and perverted. It is a disgrace the Congolese justice system has ruined its reputation by rushing through this case at indecent speed. I send you this letter because you are, in this case, the only one with the power to correct this mistake for a person that you yourself know does excellent work for people he represents in the lower house of 
parliament . There is no need to remind you he is part of your majority and therefore, you are welcome to react quickly because it is the integrity of your cohesion policy for the people which is now in doubt and seriousness of your concern for the well being of the Congolese population in general and the people of North Kivu in particular.


Sentencing MP Muhindo Nzangi to three years in prison amounts to sawing off a branch on which you rely. This sentence further weakens, if possible, your gravitas as the supreme head of the presidential majority because we believe that now the image of the majority is dirty and tarnished. An African proverb says, "family ties are worth more than anything else in the world because we share the same blood. ". To paraphrase the saying, it is clear that you share the same political blood or point of view as all members of the majority. All parts of the human body or a political party (because that's what it is), are essential. When the finger is ill, the whole body suffers with it and the body needs to be healthy before undertaking anything. Do not treat a disease as benign, it is not and this is not unique to humans.


This country, your country, my country, our country, the DRC has serious and multifaceted problems and we need serious people to confront and resolve them. I firmly believe that MP Muhindo Nzangi part of a group of politicians who will help you in finding solutions to difficult problems of repeated wars raging in the sub-region of the Great Lakes. Concerned about the future of his country, he was right to criticize the mistakes that have become habitual in the conduct of the war raging in the east of the country, which is his native land. Constructive criticism makes us stronger. This is an emergency, we must act. 

Pending a favorable outcome, give as President of the Republic, a presidential pardon to the prisoner Muhindo Nzangi show your magnanimity so that no one can call the Congo undemocratic.

Written in Goma on 16.08.2013
Chantal Faida Mulenga-Byuma
Campaigner for change

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