Congo opposition to topple Nguesso

Yaoundé. Former Republic of Congo presidential security affairs adviser Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko has added to the number of those seeking to unseating the long-serving President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

General Mokoko said his joining the race was informed by a strong desire by the Congolese to take charge of their destiny. The former security chief will be standing as an independent candidate in the March 20 presidential election.

“I think the time has come for me to be the voice of the voiceless,” he told Le Monde Afrique on Monday.

“Times are hard and the political situation in Congo keeps getting worse. We need to listen to the Congolese who want to take their destiny into their hands. Denis Sassou Nguesso has to listen and bow out of the race,” Le Monde Afrique quoted Gen Mokoko as saying.

President Nguesso, the flag-bearer for the ruling Parti congolais du travail (PCT) (Congolese Party of Labour), has been in power for nearly 32 years, becoming one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

The President, who founded PCT in 1969, last year succeeded in amending the Congo constitution to allow him contest for a third term in office.

Gen Mokoko was one of the prominent voices that opposed President Nguesso’s move, sending a clear signal about his political ambitions.

The General who was the Congolese Chief of Army Staff from 1987-1993, is currently serving as a special representative of the African Union Commission in the neighbouring Central African Republic. He was appointed the president’s peace and security affairs adviser in 2005, a post he later abandoned, apparently to prepare the ground for his future political role.

Gen Mokoko, who was expected to return to Brazzaville Tuesday, warned that the credibility of the Congolese poll should be safeguarded to avert a popular uprising. (NMG)