Doctor Denis Mukwege during a press conference in Tokyo in October 2019. BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP
Doctor Denis Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of women who have been raped, announced his candidacy for the December presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday, October 2, in Kinshasa.
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“I agree to be your candidate for president of the republic,” the famous 68-year-old gynecologist said during a speech to hundreds of enthusiastic people gathered in a conference room. He joins an already long list of opponents who want to run on December 20th against outgoing head of state Félix Tshisekedi, who has been in power since January 2019 and is running for re-election.
“Our country is doing very badly,” said “the man who fixes women” in his speech, his nickname coming from a documentary film dedicated to him. He used very harsh words to describe “the crisis” in security, politics and human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has seen several arrests of opposition figures and journalists in recent months. “We can’t wait to take action […] It will be late tomorrow, it is today, so I am ready and I am leaving now,” he insisted, describing himself as a “rebellious citizen.”
This announcement comes after months of speculation about Dr. Mukwege’s intentions. Since last year, his supporters, including many Congolese intellectuals, have been urging him to enter the political fray, an area he has not yet ventured into, although his voice has long been critical of respect for power.
On September 16, he announced in his city of Bukavu (east) that he had received from his supporters the $100,000 deposit required by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) for each presidential candidacy. “If the people decide to take power, no system can resist it,” he said, without revealing his intentions. On the ground, two structures support his candidacy: a “Patriotic Appeal” from civil society and a political platform, the Alliance of Congolese for the Refoundation of the Nation (ACRN).
A scattered opposition
Other opponents in the race include Martin Fayulu, who was unsuccessful in the December 2018 election and confirmed his presidential candidacy on Saturday. Also in the running is former governor of Katanga (southeast) and wealthy businessman Moïse Katumbi, who should officially submit his candidacy in the coming days.
The application deadline is Sunday, October 8th, midnight. Late last week, the CENI said it had received six, including those from former prime ministers Augustin Matata (2012-2016) and Adolphe Muzito (2008-2012). The presidential election will be linked to parliamentary, provincial and local elections. It is a single-round election for which the opposition, unless there are alliances and rallies by then, is preparing in a scattered manner.
Also read: Denis Mukwege criticizes President Tshisekedi’s “diplomacy”, the source of “instability” in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
Denis Mukwege’s speech in Kinshasa was broadcast live in two rooms in Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, where his announcement received widespread applause. Here, since 1999, in his clinic in the outskirts of Panzi, the doctor and his team have been treating female victims of rape, which has been used as a weapon of war in this eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been subject to violence from armed groups for almost thirty years.
This “war on women’s bodies” continues today, increasingly extending to children, even infants, as he recently noted. For years he has been complaining about impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and on his trips abroad, calling for an international tribunal and calling for “transitional justice” to heal the wounds of wounded populations.