An opposition leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Monday he had been banned from leaving the country and stripped of his passport, condemning it as “intimidation” amid tensions with the government.
Delly Sesanga, who heads the Envol party and is an ex-minister and former lawmaker, is a leading member of a new coalition against moves to amend the constitution paving the way to allow the president to stay in power.
More than two years before the DRC next holds presidential polls, a bill on the organisation of a referendum on constitutional reform was adopted by parliament earlier this month.
It could open the door to a third term in office for President Felix Tshisekedi, 63, whose second and — under the current iron-clad rules — final five-year mandate ends in December 2028.
An opposition rally in the capital Kinshasa on June 12 to denounce an attempted “constitutional coup” was suppressed.
