Exiled DR Congo opposition leader Moise Katumbi gestures during the
launch of his political movement on March 12, 2018 at a hotel in
Johannesburg. AFP PHOTO | MUJAHID SAFODIEN
Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi held Italian
citizenship from October 2000 until January 2017, the Italian town where
he was a resident said on Wednesday, jeopardising his hopes of
contesting a presidential election later this year.
contesting a presidential election later this year.
Democratic
Republic of Congo’s attorney general said last week he had opened an
investigation into allegations about Katumbi’s Italian nationality,
first reported by Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique.
Under
Congo’s constitution, its nationals cannot hold dual citizenship and
have to petition the government to regain their citizenship if they take
up a foreign nationality.
The provision, however, is laxly enforced and many prominent politicians are believed to have second citizenships.
The
town of San Vito dei Normanni in southern Italy confirmed in an email
to Reuters that Katumbi held Italian citizenship for more than 16 years.
Citizenship status in Italy is commonly registered by local town halls.
Katumbi’s spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his boss’s nationality.
In
a video released on Monday, Katumbi said no one could contest his
Congolese nationality, but did not deny he had held Italian citizenship.
Opposition’s candidate
The
millionaire businessman is seen as the opposition’s leading candidate
in December’s election. He has said the accusations were the latest
attempt by President Joseph Kabila’s government to derail his candidacy.
Kabila,
in power since 2001, is barred by term limits from standing for
re-election. 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.
Kabila has refused to publicly
commit to not standing again and blamed election delays on a slow voter
registration process. That uncertainty has stoked violent street
protests in which dozens of people have been killed.
Katumbi
was forced into exile in May 2016 when prosecutors accused him of
hiring foreign mercenaries and he was sentenced the following month to
three years in prison for real estate fraud. He denies all the charges
against him.
According to a poll released last week, Katumbi would place first in the presidential election with 24 per cent of the vote.
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