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Source App: [Ex-Mobutu Man Takes Charge of Congo Rebels - Netscape]
Ex-Mobutu Man Takes Charge of Congo Rebels
March 19, 1999
By Adonia Ayebare, Eric Ogoso-Opolot and Levi Ochieng
Kampala - Rival rebel factions fighting President Laurent Kabila have reunited
under a former general of the Mobutu Sese Seko regime barely a week after
meetings with high- ranking officials of Uganda's National Resistance Movement.
It was not clear whether the Kampala delegation was instrumental in the
reorganisation.
The Rally for Congolese Democracy, which has been riven by internal divisions, has appointed General Celestine Ilunga to take charge of its military operations and agreed on a new unity among factions which had broken away from Prof Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, the political head of the movement, which is supported by Uganda and Rwanda.
The decision followed a visit to Goma by high-ranking officials of President Yoweri Museveni's NRM a week ago.
They included the External Affairs Director in the NRM Secretariat, Alhaji Kirunda Kivejinja and the National Political Commissar (NPC), Mr. James Wapakhabulo.
The acting Director for Information at the Movement Secretariat, Mr. James Magode Ikuya, confirmed that an NRM delegation visited the rebel-held areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said: "The visit was routine. For some time now we have had contacts in the
area. It is because of our security interest. We need more collaboration with
the local people there."
The appointment of Gen Ilunga, a former head of military intelligence in the former Zaire, is expected to bolster the sagging fortunes of the forces battling to oust President Kabila, who is supported by Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique.
President Kabila and his allies met in Kinshasa two weeks ago and renewed their commitment to pushing the rebels out of Congo, together with the Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers fighting along side them. Kabila then announced the formation of his army's first mechanised battalion. Other reports suggested Zimbabwe had sent an additional brigade to the DRC.
On assuming his new role as the rebels' defence minister, Gen Ilunga told The EastAfrican in Goma that Congo risked degenerating into anarchy if rebel factions were allowed to mushroom .
He said: "The RCD is the only forum that can bring together all Congolese to
face the challenges of building their country; unity first and the rest will
follow." Divisions among the anti-Kabila rebels came to the surface last year
when a little-known businessman, Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba, announced the formation
of a new group called the Movement for the Liberation of Congo independent of
the mainstream RCD.
The announcement created a rift between Uganda and Rwanda, with Kampala appearing to support the splinter group. Ugandan and Rwandan military officers openly accused each other in the press of corruption and meddling in the rebels' leadership politics.
There have since been quiet efforts to reconcile the two groups, the outcome of which is likely to be discussed at a summit to be held in Kigali next week.
The meeting between the heads of state of Rwanda and Uganda is expected to review strategies in the Congo war, but officials in Kampala maintained that the meeting would concentrate on bilateral issues.
Ugandan officials have travelled to Kigali to lay the groundwork for the meeting between Presidents Museveni and Mr. Pasteur Bizimungu.
NRM officials, explaining the visit to eastern Zaire, said the RCD political leadership headed by Prof Wamba needed guidance on how to mobilise grassroots support, based upon Uganda's experience.
Press reports have indicated that Uganda has been concerned about infighting in the rebel ranks and has been considering taking action, including recalling some of its top field commanders in the eastern part of the DRC.
It is not clear whether Brigadier James Kazini, who heads the Uganda People's Defence Forces' operation in the region, with some Rwandese officers, will be affected.
Recently, the CNN television quoted a military commander in Goma as saying in the presence of Prof Wamba that the military would act against the RCD political wing if they felt dissatisfied with their role.
The NRM spokesman, Mr. Ikuya, said the visit was aimed at mobilising against rebels who threaten Uganda's security and operate inside the DRC
"Congo is so vast that we need to maintain contact with the local people. There should be a pan-Africanist stand there. We have a lot of issues to address," said Mr. Ikuya .
Meanwhile, President Kabila at the weekend sent a team of ministers to Washington to attend a conference of US and African officials, the first such visit to the United States since rebels took up arms against him.
Officials in Kinshasa said on Saturday that Agriculture Minister Ferdinand Mawapanga Mwana Nanga, who is acting Finance Minister, Human Rights Minister Leonard Okitundu and Deputy Defence Minister Denis Kalume Numbi made up the delegation.
The visit follows the expulsion from Congo of five British officials and an American on charges of spying. Britain said that the officials were putting in place contingency evacuation plans for its embassy and British nationals.
In a separate development, Kabila's cabinet director, Abdoulaye Yerodia, said on Friday that Roman Catholic Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya had no government mandate to mediate in the conflict.
Archbishop Monsengwo had suggested in a radio interview after a meeting in South Africa that the government had asked him to contact Uganda's president.
Reported by Adonia Ayebare in Goma and Eric Ogoso-Opolot and Levi Ochieng in Kampala .
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