South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday praised DRC President Joseph Kabila, the outgoing , for his “respect for the constitution”.
The two presidents met in Kinshasa for a “working visit”, the African Union revealed, two days after Kabila announced his withdrawal from DRC’s presidential race which is scheduled for the end of the year.
According to a joint statement, Ramaphosa and Kabila discussed “the evolution of the political, electoral and security situations in the DRC as well as the strengthening of relations between the two countries and issues of regional interest,”
They also recognised the “significant progress made in the electoral process” in the war-torn country Kabila has ruled for 17 years.
Ramaphosa, who is also the current head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), praised his counterpart for “honouring his word to respect the constitution” of the DRC, the statement added.
Meanwhile, supporters of opposition leader Moise Katumbi, who has been barred from entering the country to contest the election, said on Friday they had appealed to a top court.
“We have gone to the Council of State to obtain the immediate lifting of this irregular measure”, Dilly Sesanga of Katumbi’s Ensemble (Together) coalition told media.
Katumbi was denied entry last week as he tried to get home via Zambia before a deadline to submit his candidacy for the presidential polls.
The wealthy businessman and former governor of the province of Katanga has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since May 2016 after falling out with Kabila.
