The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila on Friday denied accusations that his forces had used excess force to disperse pro-democracy protests, sparked by his failure to step down at the end of his term in November 2016.
Kabila instead turned the blame on the demonstrators, accusing them of arson and attacking the police during the riots.
The president was speaking in his first news conference in six years, coming after a week of simmering unrest following the shooting of churchgoers in the capital, Kinshasa.
He said he was not against peaceful protests, but not if the demonstrators threatened the police.
“I am not (and) … will never be against peaceful protests by political parties,” Reuters quotes Kabila to have told journalists in the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
“But (not) if a political demonstration is intended to burn, kill police … incinerate things.”
Kabila’s term ended in November 2016, but failure to hold a presidential election meant he stayed in power.
The electoral authority said then that it could not conduct the poll due to logistical challenges.
Opposition leaders however took issue with the situation, blaming it on Kabila, saying it was his way of clinging on to power.
The country as then hit by protests across major cities, killing scores of people over the past year and injuring hundreds others.
The international community, including France, Britain, the United States and former colonial master Belgium, has condemned the violence in DR Congo, calling for elections.
Kabila has widely been silent on the push to hold elections, though the electoral body last year said it would hold the vote later this year.
