Congo’s attorney general says he has opened an investigation against a main opposition leader after reports that he may have Italian citizenship.
Attorney General Flory Kabange Numbi told Radio Okapi on Tuesday that former Katanga Gov. Moise Katumbi may have taken advantage of false documents.
Congo’s constitution says Congolese nationality must be exclusive although the provision is not aggressively enforced and many prominent politicians are believed to have foreign citizenship.
A Jeune Afrique report says Katumbi has held Italian nationality since 2000.
Katumbi is considered as the leading opposition candidate to replace President Joseph Kabila. He has been in exile since May 2016 after being accused by state prosecutors of hiring mercenaries.
He’s also a millionaire businessman who owns TP Mazembe, one of Africa’s most successful soccer teams. He was a longtime ally of Kabila but fell out with him before announcing his candidacy for president.
Katumbi has since been dogged by legal woes and was sentenced in June 2016 to three years in prison for real estate fraud. He says the recent accusations against him are politically motivated and plans to return to the DR Congo in June for campaigning.
President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, is barred by term limits from standing for re-election in December. But opponents suspect he intends to try to change the constitution to run again or further delay the poll, which was originally due in 2016.
