afrol News, 1 August - The leader of opposition Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, is yet to return home for senate business though his extended medical treatment leave deadline expired on 31 July. This is the second time that his leave to treat an old injury had expired.

Mr Bemba, a former Vice President and a current Senator of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was holed up in the South African embassy in the capital Kinshasa for three weeks after a fierce battle ensued between his forces and those loyal to the state in March 2007.

He had accused troops loyal to President Kabila of trying to kill him. The clash left more than 200 people dead, with Congolese authorities accusing Mr Bemba of high treason charges. He had left the country for abroad weeks later.

He had wanted to return from Portugal to participate in the September session of the senate but his spokesman, Moise Musangana, feared his security. Mr Bemba, a former warlord, is covered by a senate immunity. He might lose his seat and the immunity attached to it if he fails to return home.

Before being granted the leave of absence, the Public Prosecutor, Tshimanga Mukeba, wrote to the senate asking it to lift Bemba’s immunity so that he would be prosecuted as the “intellectual author” of the deadly violence.

The MLC leader lost to President Joseph Kabila in a second round polls last October last year, amid violence.

President Kabila is said to be bombarded with diplomatic pressures to facilitate the peaceful homecoming of Bemba.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories