Congo President Reportedly Killed
by ARNAUD ZAJTMAN
Associated Press Writer
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) -- President Laurent Kabila, the onetime rebel who
seized power and then fought to rule over this vast and troubled nation,
died Tuesday after being shot at his Kinshasa residence, Kabila's U.S.
spokesman said.
The shooting occurred during an attempted coup to topple Kabila's
government, which has been battling a number of rebel movements for more
than two years, officials in Kinshasa said.
''He's died,'' said John Aycoth, a lobbyist and public relations consultant
who acts as Kabila's spokesman in the United States.
Aycoth, speaking by telephone from Durham, N.C., said he had spoken to top
level Congolese officials in Kinshasa, who had confirmed Kabila's death. He
said the Congolese government would make an announcement on what had
happened at 6 a.m. Wednesday Congo time (Tuesday midnight EST).
French and Belgian foreign ministry officials quoted local sources as saying
they believed he died of his injuries.
''From three sources I have that Kabila has most likely been shot to
death,'' Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Louis Michel said in Brussels
following a crisis meeting with the Cabinet.
Earlier, his spokesman, Koen Vervaeke, said, ''From two sources of whom we
are 100 percent certain, we can confirm that Kabila has died. He has
probably been shot by one of his guards.''
French Foreign Ministry officials had also said that Kabila was dead, but
gave no further details.
Belgium is Congo's former colonial ruler and retains close ties with the
nation, formerly named Zaire.
Asked about the report, Congolese Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudji said:
''The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs can say what he wants but I will
make my announcement tomorrow.''
A member of Kabila's security entourage said on condition of anonymity that
the bodyguard had shot the president in the back and right leg during a coup
attempt. Kabila was alive and was being treated by doctors, he said without
elaborating.
Intelligence officers in Rwanda also said they had unconfirmed reports that
Kabila was killed in the intense shooting Tuesday afternoon at the
presidential palace, which lasted a half-hour. Rwanda supports rebels
fighting to topple the Congolese strongman.
The Congolese government would not elaborate publicly on their president's
condition, or even whether he'd been shot.
''President Kabila is alive and everything is OK,'' said Congolese Gen.
Francois Olenga.
The conflicting reports came hours after witnesses described gunfire around
the home of Kabila, who has been fighting multiple rebel armies for more
than two years. It was unclear who was responsible for the shooting.
A presidential helicopter landed at Kinshasa's main hospital, a government
official who witnessed the event said, adding there were unconfirmed reports
that the aircraft was carrying Kabila's son, Joseph Kabila, who had
apparently been injured. The younger Kabila is the head of Congo's military.
Presidential aide Eddy Kapend went on national television shortly after the
gunfire ended to appeal for calm, but he made no mention of the incident.
The bleary-eyed Kapend ordered that all airports and borders be closed,
appealing to the armed forces and civil society leaders to help maintain
order.
''The Congolese people need your serenity and your discipline,'' he said.
Later, an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew was announced by Kakudji as having being
ordered by Kabila himself.
Kakudji also put all fighting units in Kinshasa on alert until further
notice.
Amid the confusion of the shooting, Kinshasa residents hurried home and many
streets were quickly deserted. Truckloads of armed soldiers patrolled the
streets in Congo's capital city.
Large numbers of troops in armored vehicles and on foot blocked off roads
near Kabila's hilltop residence, not far from downtown Kinshasa. The
presidential residence, known as the Marble Palace, is usually heavily
guarded by troops and a North Korean-made tank.
Kabila has been fighting a civil war since August 1998, when rebel forces
backed by his former allies, Rwanda and Uganda, turned against him. In the
war's early stages, the rebels reached the outskirts of Kinshasa before
being turned back by Kabila's army, which is now supported by Angola,
Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking from Brussels, Kin-Kiey Mulumba, a spokesman for one of the main
rebel movements, insisted Kabila was dead.
''It was a palace coup. Soldiers from Kabila's escort fired at him. He took
bullets directly. Immediately, the doctors took him to the main hospital,
but he died.''
Mulumba said the shooting proved that the Congolese people wanted a change,
but denied that rebels had anything to do with it.
''Something big happened in our country this afternoon. People want
change,'' he said.
Kabila came to power in May 1997 following a Uganda- and Rwanda-sponsored
rebellion against former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled the nation
then called Zaire.
The world community initially welcomed Kabila, who many hoped would be a
vast improvement over Mobutu's decades-long rule, which left his nation
desperately broke and with an infrastructure that barely functioned.
But Kabila quickly alienated himself, inviting close friends and relatives
into the government, angering investors and obstructing a United Nations
investigation of reports that his rebel army had slaughtered thousands of
Hutu refugees.
AP-NY-01-16-01 2029EST<
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