The Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition presidential candidate Moise Katumbi has been summoned to appear before a prosecutor on Monday to respond to accusations that he hired foreign mercenaries, his lawyer said on Saturday.
Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba ordered the national prosecutor general on Wednesday to investigate Katumbi’s alleged use of mercenaries, including several retired American soldiers.
Katumbi last week declared himself a candidate for the presidency in the elections scheduled for November.
Reuters news agency reports Katumbi’s lawyer King Kasongo Mushilanama to say that his client received the summons on Saturday to appear before the prosecutor general of Congo’s second city of Lubumbashi on Monday to respond to the government’s charges.
Mushilanama said Katumbi will honor the summon.
The presidential hopeful has denied the charges and accused the government of resorting to smear tactics.
The U.S. Embassy in the capital Kinshasa also said that it believed the accusations were false.
Tensions are high ahead of the election in part because President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, has not declared whether he plans to step down this year, as required by the constitution.
