Upon being accused of being captured on camera discussing a shady mineral deal, which he denies, a prominent advisor to the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, resigned. Tshisekedi entered office in 2019 with the goal of putting a stop to the pervasive corruption that marred Joseph Kabila’s administration. However, the mineral-rich nation has since been the subject of multiple high-profile corruption scandals.
The top advisor in Tshisekedi’s present Cabinet, Vidiye Tshimanga, allegedly negotiated a ‘portion’ of what he believed to be an underhanded mining deal, according to the nonprofit organisation the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). In a report released on Thursday, OCCRP said that Tshimanga had many meetings with two people posing as mineral investors from Hong Kong who had secretly taped him proposing to use his connections to Tshisekedi to get around restrictions in exchange for a share of the profits. Tshimanga has refuted accusations of impropriety.
Tshimanga stated in his resignation letter on Friday that he was resigning due to a ‘ethical commitment,’ despite the fact that he felt his comments had been misconstrued. ‘ This seems to me to be the only decision of decency to be made. The wound is sadly too open at this stage,’ he added.
The public has to be reminded that one of the president’s main areas of focus is the battle against corruption, according to a statement released by Tshisekedi’s communications director on Friday. The statement, which made no mention of Tshimanga, stated that ‘Any person, including within the Office of the President, whose behaviour has breached the law… shall pay the repercussions’.
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