Opposition rally turns violent in Kinshasa, injuring two figures

A protest in Kinshasa against proposed constitutional change erupted into clashes on Friday, leaving two opposition figures lightly injured and putting the country’s term-limit fight at the center of a fresh street confrontation. Police broke up the rally with tear gas near parliament after clashes with pro-government supporters, and some demonstrators fled into Martin Fayulu’s party headquarters as stones were thrown and the building came under attack.

The rally was organized by the C64 coalition, a bloc of divided opposition parties that has united against what it sees as an effort by President Félix Tshisekedi to tighten his grip on power. Witnesses said about 100 demonstrators were gathered near parliament when security forces moved in. Fayulu, who finished second in the 2018 presidential election and third in 2023, and fellow opposition figure Prince Epenge were both reported to have suffered light injuries in the unrest.

The violence came just three days after the National Assembly passed a referendum bill on June 9, a legislative step that opposition leaders say could pave the way for constitutional revision. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote, and the bill still needed Senate consideration. Tshisekedi, now in his second and under the current constitution final five-year term, said in early May that he had not asked for a third term but would accept one if “the people” wanted it. His party, the UDPS, had already begun promoting constitutional reform publicly.

That sequence has alarmed critics who say the ruling majority is seeking to remove or sidestep the constitution’s two-term limit. Article 220 is meant to protect the presidential term-limit provisions from revision, and it was designed after Mobutu Sese Seko’s long authoritarian rule to help prevent another dictatorship. Opposition leaders have denounced the reform push as a “constitutional coup,” while a major coalition against revision formed in May, with Envol official Nicolas Lenga calling it “an act of rebellion against the Republic” and invoking Article 64, which calls on Congolese citizens to resist unconstitutional power.

Kinshasa provincial authorities said at least 20 people were injured in the clashes, including 15 police officers and five demonstrators, and said the gathering near parliament had not been authorized. The toll underlines how quickly the constitutional battle is becoming a test of the DRC’s democratic guardrails, with weak opposition alliances still capable of mobilizing the streets and a contested reform process now feeding wider fears of political instability.