A Special Adviser to President Felix Tshisekedi, accused of organizing meetings to destabilize the government, has been in detention since February 5.
After Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, is the coup fever spreading to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)? Indeed, the country’s intelligence authorities seem to have detected an attempt to do so and have arrested François Beya, Tshisekedi’s Special Security Advisor.
He spent his third night in the premises of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), several Congolese media reported, stressing that the detention of Beya could be due to an attempted coup d’Etat with the participation of senior army officers.
Georges Kapiamba, president of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice, was allowed to visit Beya on Saturday and said he did not yet know the reasons for his arrest. A commission of inquiry was to hear him today, but the authorities have not yet communicated on the case.
According to those close to him, the Special Adviser to the Congolese head of state was arrested while he was taking a medical rest recommended by his doctor. While there are no facts to support the accusation of a coup attempt, some newspapers wonder if it is not a “simple plot hatched by his opponents to eliminate an influential security official.”
All the Congolese have their eyes on the building of the “Big Ears” of the Republic, located in the business district of Gombe. It is in this building that once housed a local bank that one of the most powerful men in power is being held. This is a funny situation because François Beya has de facto authority over the said agency. But the roles are reversed. How did it come to this? What are we accusing the chief of security services, appointed to this position in 2019 by the Congolese head of state?” the magazine ‘Enjeux Africains’ asked.
As an answer to this question, Afrikarabia says that “Tshisekedi is cleaning up among the security officials.” “By removing this former loyalist of Joseph Kabila, the head of state is pursuing the ‘de-kabilization’ of the security apparatus and is trying to prevent a possible putsch against his power,” explains this site specializing in the DRC.
Indeed, François Beya has served the country’s successive leaders. He began his busy career in the intelligence services when the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was still under Mobutu’s Zaire, in the 1980s.
After a short exile at the fall of Marshal Mobutu, he returned to the service of the Kabilas, father and then son. For many years, he led the General Directorate of Migration. His moderation and discretion will make him a “perfect cog” in the transition between Joseph Kabila and Felix Tshisekedi in January 2019. The latter relies on François Beya, with whom he also shares Kasai roots.
While Congolese opinion is still waiting to be enlightened on this matter, the organization for the promotion and protection of human rights, Justicia ASBL, has already taken a stand. In a press release, it invited the Congolese government to explain to the population the “supposed coup attempt” that was thwarted by the presidency.
ODL/te/fss/abj/APA