[Photo Courtesy: AP]
His arrest followed hours of testimony at the public prosecutor’s office.
Kamerhe’s arrest was a blow to President Felix Tshisekedi who took power in January last year after campaigning on promising to clean up corruption which watchdogs groups claim thrived under his long-serving predecessor, Joseph Kabila.
Tshisekedi’s spokesman, Kasongo Mwema is quoted saying, “the president does not comment on the decisions of the justice system.”
Kamerhe denied all allegations of impropriety and it was not immediately clear how long he would be held or whether he would be charged with a crime.
Tshisekedi has put his efforts to root out corruption in Congo but activists have criticized his government’s spending on a $304 million public works programme as lacking transparency.
His chief of staff has faced scrutiny for his role in the spending on roads, bridges and social housing.
Kamehre’s arrest could cause the collapse of the coalition between Kamerhe’s Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) and Tshesekedi’s Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) who promised to back the UNC’s candidate in the next election in 2023.
However, the collapse of the coalition may have already been in the cards, said Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group at New York University.
“The coalition was important ahead of the elections, but ever since he was inaugurated, there have been people around Tshisekedi pushing him to get rid of Vital,” Stearns said.
