President Felix Shisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
- Christian Malanga led a failed coup in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and appears to have died in the fighting.
- His business partner, an American, was detained.
- The coup attempt was broadcast live on Facebook by Malanga.
A fringe Congolese politician and a US business partner with mining and cannabis businesses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mozambique appear to have led an unsuccessful coup early Sunday morning.
Christian Malanga, 41, the leader of the US-based United Congo Party, was reportedly killed when 20 armed men tried to force their way into the country. Palais de la Nationthe official residence of President Felix Tshisekedi.
Malanga's right-hand man was Benjamin Zalman Pollan from Maryland (USA), who was identified in previous reports as a US cannabis entrepreneur.
Malanga and Zalman Porun were both partners in mining ventures and the burgeoning e-liquids sector.
Zalman Porun was among those arrested along with Malanga's 20-year-old son in the failed revolt.
Malanga described himself as a “problem solver ready to end corruption and political deadlock in Kinshasa” and broadcast the coup attempt on his Facebook page.
He spoke of a “new Zaire” and they were flying the flag of the Mobutu-Sese-Seko era.
Government sources told News24 that the armed group only gained access to Mr Tshisekedi's office.
Earlier, gunmen attacked the home of Vital Kamerhe, former speaker of the Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament, killing two security guards and one attacker in a gunfight.
Read | Death toll rises to 18 in strikes on displaced persons camps in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
The FARDC said in a televised statement that the coup attempt had been nipped in the bud.
Military spokesperson General Sylvain Ekenge also called on the people to carry out their duties freely.
“I woke up around 3am to the sound of gunshots. The gunshots lasted for more than an hour. I knew it was a coup because Kinshasa was the safest place to live in the Democratic Republic of Congo these days.” Working in Zambia said a Zambian expatriate. Congo.
President Tshisekedi won a second term in December last year, which was contested against the backdrop of deteriorating security in the eastern part of the country.
A week before the election, he called on the South African-led SADC force, SAMIDRC, to take over the East African Community (EAC) standby force.
The “blue helmet” United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has also withdrawn from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This was the first attempted coup in the SADC region since the successful coup in Zimbabwe in November 2017.
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