Deadly Congolese protests

This item appears on page 18 of the November 2016 issue.

September protests against the president of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, became violent on Sept. 19, with at least 37 protesters and six police officers killed in the capital, Kinshasa. 

Protests were staged when the Congolese election commission announced that November elections would be postponed. Opponents of the 2-term president accused him of trying to supersede the constitution, which limits him to two terms.

A one-day general strike on Aug. 23, called for by the opposition in order to encourage President Kabila to resign, shut down most businesses and services in Kinshasa and other major cities in the DRC for the day.