INTER-PPRD RIVALRY BRINGS NEW GOVERNOR TO KINSHASA

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001923 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2015 TAGS: PGOV PINR CG SUBJECT: INTER-PPRD RIVALRY BRINGS NEW GOVERNOR TO KINSHASA Classified By: PolOff TJNaber, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Kimbembi Mazingi, a little-known politician not involved in government since the late 1990s under former president Laurent Kabila, was appointed Governor of Kinshasa November 15. He replaced Jean Kimbunda, a close ally of PPRD Secretary General Vital Kamarhe. (Note: The PPRD is the SIPDIS political party of President Joseph Kabila. End note.) The shuffle in part signaled Kabila's displeasure with a recent incident involving Kamarhe, Kimbunda, and PPRD Deputy Secretary General Marie Ange Lukiana, and may also be partly SIPDIS a response to mounting rumors of Kimbunda's corruption. Kamarhe, who is rumored to have wanted the job of Interior Minister Theophile Mbemba, recently encouraged Kimbunda and Lukiana to attend a road opening in Bandundu province in defiance of the Interior Minister's authority to authorize all such travel. Kimbunda was also roundly criticized for his ineffectiveness in providing services and improving conditions in Kinshasa during his tenure. ¶2. (SBU) Pascal Tabu Ley, a well-known Congolese musician, was appointed Vice Governor of Kinshasa also on November 15. He replaced Laurent Batumona, a fellow RCD party member. Members of some of the other political parties have mocked the appointment of a singer/dancer to the Vice Governorship. ¶3. (C) Comment: Although a number of new governors and mayors were announced November 15, the change in the Kinshasa governorship speaks directly to the power struggles within the PPRD. The rivalry between Mbemba and Kamarhe has drawn the attention of the President, who appears to have come down on the former's side, both in this case and also in not replacing Mbemba as Interior Minister in the November 18 cabinet shuffle (septel). End comment. DOUGHERTY