KABILA ALLIES WIN LION'S SHARE OF WESTERN KASAI'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000096

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM CG ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: KABILA ALLIES WIN LION'S SHARE OF WESTERN KASAI'S
SENATE DELEGATION

REF: KINSHASA 51


1. (U) Candidates aligned with President Joseph Kabila's
Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) will make up
most of the national Senate delegation from Western Kasai.
AMP coalition candidates won at least five -- and possibly as
many as seven -- of the province's eight Senate seats January
19, including three for the PPRD alone. Jean-Pierre Bemba's
Union for the Nation (UfN) alliance won just one Senate seat
in the assembly.


2. (U) The AMP coalition victory is a reversal of fortune for
the pro-Kabila forces after they lost out to Bemba allies in
contests for the provincial assembly's leadership positions a
week earlier (reftel). In addition to the three PPRD seats,
the vote among Western Kasai's 54 provincial deputies
resulted in two for independent candidates, and one apiece
for Bemba's MLC, Ruberwa's RCD, and the Democratic Socialist
Party (PDS, aligned with the AMP). Both independents will
likely join the AMP alliance.


3. (U) The Western Kasai assembly was evenly split between
the AMP and UfN coalitions after October 29 election. A
post-election alliance with the RCD gave the AMP coalition a
slight numerical majority, although it failed to elect any
AMP candidates to the assembly's top positions.


3. (U) Many of the new Senators are political newcomers,
although there are some familiar names in the delegation.
These include Bashilenge traditional chief Emery Kalamba
Wafuana (independent, likely allied with the AMP),High Media
Authority President Modeste Mutinga (also an independent, and
likely aligned with the AMP),and the DRC's chief auditor
Evariste Mabi Mulumba (PPRD).


4. (SBU) Biographical information:

Gaston Nkole Tshimuanga (MLC)

Nkole, 53, will represent Bemba's Movement for the Liberation
of Congo (MLC) in the national Senate. Born May 25, 1953.

Jean Baptiste Iyolo La Ndjondo (PPRD)

Iyolo, 68, will represent the pro-Kabila People's Party for
Reconstruction and Development (PPRD). Born April 18, 1938.

John Muyamba Ngove (PPRD)

Muyama, 35, is the second-youngest member elected to the
Senate and will serve as one of the two secretaries in the
chamber's provisional leadership office. Born January 1, 1972.

Muendu Mbueshi Kuongo (RCD)

Mbueshi, 77, will be the Senate's oldest member. He will
serve as president of the Senate's provisional leadership
office until a permanent secretariat is elected. A former
primary school teacher and regional education inspector in
Western Kasai, he later entered politics and was elected to
the Mobutu-era parliament from Western Kasai, serving from
1977-1981. He participated in committees focused on finance
and the environment. Born December 29, 1929.

Emery Kalamba Wafuana (independent, likely allied with
Kabila/AMP)

Kalamba, 54, became traditional chief of the Bashilenge clan
in February 2002, and served in the Transitional Senate. A
lawyer specializing in mining law, he holds a masters in
international affairs from Georgetown University. He has been
a member of several organizations advocating the interests of
traditional societies, serving as President of the Grand
Kasai Forum and Vice President of the National Alliance of
Traditional Authorities of Congo. Born January 12, 1953.

Modeste Mutinga (independent, likely aligned with Kabila/AMP)

Mutinga, 60, is the president of the High Media Authority
(HAM),one of the Transitional Government's five
institutions. He holds a degree in political science from the
Free University in Kinshasa. A career journalist and author,
he has edited several media publications, including "Le
Potentiel," a Kinshasa daily newspaper. He founded the Union
of Journalists and Communications Agents, the first

KINSHASA 00000096 002 OF 002


journalists' union in the Congo. He later became Vice
President of the Union of Congolese Press. He participated in
the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in South Africa as a member of
the civil society delegation. Born January 1, 1947.

Patrice-Aime Sesanga Dja Kasiw (PDS, allied with Kabila/AMP)

Sesanga, 63, is a longtime activist in Kasaian politics and
was a member of the Transitional National Assembly. He held
positions in the Kasaian Ministry of Agriculture in 1963, as
well as the Ministry of National Education and Agriculture in
1964-1965. From 1968-1973 he served as a Vice President with
the mining parastatal Gecamines. He was named to the national
legislature in 1980 and subsequently appointed as a member of
the Movement for Popular Revolution's central committee. He
participated in the Sovereign National Conference and was
named Minister of Social Affairs in 1993. Founder of the
Group of Moderate Opposition (ROM) political platform, he
went on to serve as President of the Democratic Socialist
Party and co-signed the Sun City Accords. He is the father of
former Bemba chief of staff and Minister of Plan Delly
Sesanga. Born July 15, 1943.

Evariste Mabi Mulumba (PPRD)

Mabi, 65, has been the DRC's chief government auditor since

1988. He holds a degree in economics and a doctorate in
business administration from the University of Liege in
Belgium. He served as adviser to the Governor of Kinshasa
from 1967-1968 and became deputy director of the Institute
for Economic and Social Research in 1973. A member of the
Movement for Popular Revolution's central committee from
1980-1990, he was Minister of Finance in 1986 and Prime
Minister under Mobutu from 1987-1988. Born April 22, 1941.
MEECE