EASTERN KASAI GOVERNOR REJECTS ASSEMBLY SEAT:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001591

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR CG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: EASTERN KASAI GOVERNOR REJECTS ASSEMBLY SEAT:
REASONS AND RAMIFICATIONS

Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) Summary: Dominique Kanku, the governor of Eastern
Kasai province, has declined to take his seat in the DRC's
new National Assembly, opting instead to remain in his
current position. Kanku is the first high-level GDRC official
elected to parliament on July 30 to make it known he intends
to stay in his current office and not join the legislature.
Kanku said he made his decision to stay in Eastern Kasai in
order to finish the work he started there, as well as to
prepare for a possible run for governor later this year.
Kanku's decision may also have been influenced by allegations
of corruption being made against him by local officials. End
summary.

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KANKU OPTS OUT OF ASSEMBLY TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED
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2. (U) Dominique Kanku, a member of Vice President
Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of the Congo
(MLC) party, announced October 11 that he would not claim his
seat in the newly-elected National Assembly in Kinshasa, but
would instead remain in place as the governor of Eastern
Kasai province. Kanku is the first high-level GDRC official
elected to the new legislature to make known he will opt out
of his mandate in the Assembly. His place will now be filled
by his designated replacement (also from the MLC),whom he
named when declaring his candidacy.


3. (U) Kanku -- at age 43 the youngest serving governor in
the DRC -- is a popular figure in Eastern Kasai, particularly
in the provincial capital of Mbuji-Mayi. In the July 30
legislative elections, while Kanku won just 16 percent of the
overall vote in his district, he outpolled his nearest
competitor (in a field of 351 candidates) by a margin of
six-to-one, receiving more votes himself than any of the
other 69 political parties and independent candidates
running. Because of his strong showing, Kanku was able on his
votes alone to secure three of Mbuji-Mayi's eleven National
Assembly seats for the MLC, based on the DRC's proportional
voting system.


4. (SBU) Kanku told us he ran for the National Assembly out
of a "sense of duty" to his political party and for the
opportunity given him by the MLC to serve as governor. He
explained, however, that he has maintained from the beginning
of his campaign that if elected he would cede his position in
Kinshasa to stay in Eastern Kasai. Kanku said his focus now
is to finish the work he started in the province, but he may
consider other opportunities in the future. Kanku's political
adviser David Kalonji said the governor is very interested in
running again for his current position when elections are
held at the very end of this year. Kalonji added that Kanku's
popularity -- and his remaining in the province -- will help
the MLC's electoral chances in the October 29 presidential
runoff and provincial assembly elections. (Note: The
provincial assemblies, once seated, will in turn elected
provincial governors. It is therefore in Kanku's interest to
ensure that the MLC controls the Eastern Kasai provincial
assembly if he wants to be elected. End note.)

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BUT ARE THERE OTHER REASONS TO STAY PUT?
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5. (C) Kanku's decision, though, may not have been taken
entirely due to his declared desire to serve Eastern Kasai.
During a recent trip to Eastern Kasai, EconCouns and PolOff
received reports from several sources that Kanku has been
involved in a variety of questionable financial dealings,
including the skimming of diamond profits and the
misappropriation of government resources. Kanku's alleged
involvement in these affairs has even had an impact on the
executive management of the province, as Kanku himself has
reportedly attempted to prevent one of his vice governors
from serving as the interim governor during his absence
during the campaign.


6. (C) MONUC-Mbuji-Mayi Head of Office Mamady Kouyate said
when Kanku left his office to run his campaign, he tried
unsuccessfully to have Vice Governor for Economic Affairs
Brigitte Oyumba take over his position, instead of the
province's Vice Governor for Political and Administrative
Affairs, Patrick Baluba, who is next in the line of
succession. Baluba (a member of the RCD party),however, has

KINSHASA 00001591 002 OF 002


been an outspoken critic of Kanku's, while Oyumba (from the
FONUS political party) has been a closer ally. Kouyate said
Kanku's political maneuverings to favor Oyumba over Baluba
have created "bad blood" in the provincial executive. Baluba
was even recently forced to have police arrest an MLC member
of the provincial executive bureau (who is also the party's
provincial president) after he refused to stop forcibly
disrupting a cabinet meeting Baluba had been chairing.


7. (C) Others in Mbuji-Mayi said Kanku's political favoritism
goes beyond attempts to silence his critics. Civil society
activist Christian Mpunga said Kanku and Oyumba have
conspired to expropriate government property, evict legal
tenants from their buildings, and then sell the buildings
well below market value. Mpunga cited the example of how
Kanku had the provincial health director forcibly evicted
from a government-owned house (where he ran his office) after
declaring the building "abandoned." The house was then
reportedly sold to Oyumba for 800 USD, even though the
property's value was more than 10,000 USD. Mpunga said the
building was returned to the state once details of the sale
became public. He added that several other supposedly
"abandoned" buildings in the area have been seized and sold
in the same way, all to friends and partners of Kanku and
Oyumba, including outgoing Minister of Budget (and MLC
chairman) Francois Muamba. The deal with Muamba was also
overturned when it came to light.

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SKIMMING THE PROFITS?
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8. (C) The director of the DRC's national intelligence agency
(ANR) in Eastern Kasai, Roger Kibeliso, also accused Kanku of
corruption. The ANR chief said Kanku has also been involved
in other financial misdeeds, including the appropriation of
diamond profits earmarked for the province. Kibeliso said
Kanku had placed his own agent, Jean-Pierre Kadima, in
Kinshasa in 2005 personally to ensure that retrocessions
generated by diamond and other exports were returned to the
province. He claimed that money was diverted from provincial
coffers to a war chest to be shared with other MLC
candidates. He estimated the total amount of money embezzled
could add up to millions of dollars. Kibeliso did not provide
any hard evidence of these allegations, either. (Note: The
ANR is closely allied with President Kabila and thus his
political party. Any charges made against Kanku and the MLC
should thus be seen as being politically motivated. End note.)


9. (C) In a separate meeting, Baluba did not make any
reference to Kanku's alleged misdeeds, even when asked about
retrocessions by EconCouns. He did bemoan the terrible state
of financial affairs in the province, primarily blaming the
much-reduced production of MIBA (the DRC's diamond
parastatal) and its resulting inability to turn a profit.
Mpunga and Kouyate both said, however, that Baluba had
planned to make public the allegations against Kanku before
he launched his own campaign for the provincial assembly.
Baluba has not yet made such an announcement. (Note: As
reported, Baluba is a member of a rival political party, and
his intentions should be considered in this light. End note.)

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COMMENT: THE DECISION HAS AN IMPACT
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10. (C) Comment: Kanku's decision to stay in Eastern Kasai
appears to be in his own personal and political interest, as
well as in the interest of the MLC. Kanku's popularity --
coupled with his campaigning for MLC candidates at all levels
-- will boost the electoral chances for his party in the
province. With Kanku in place, Bemba could stand a better
chance in Eastern Kasai. Almost certainly, Kanku will bolster
the campaigns of the MLC's provincial assembly candidates,
increasing his own chances of remaining governor of Eastern
Kasai. End comment.
DOUGHERTY