EQUATEUR PROVINCIAL CRISIS COMES TO A HEAD

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000879 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL CG SUBJECT: EQUATEUR PROVINCIAL CRISIS COMES TO A HEAD REF: KINSHASA 652 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Samuel V. Brock for reasons 1.4 ( b) and (d). ¶1. (U) On September 21, the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the January 2009 impeachment of and removal from office of Equateur Governor Jose Makila by the Equateur Provincial Assembly. The high court also called on the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) to organize an election for a new governor and vice-governor, who will be chosen by the provincial assembly. The elections could take place within two weeks. ¶2. (SBU) Simultaneous with the Supreme Court decision, the federal Senate announced that it would send a committee to Mbandaka to investigate the management of federal funds transferred to Equateur since 2006. A Senate spokesman added that the investigation would encompass the provincial assembly, as well as the provincial government. Makila has been accused of embezzling more the $3.8 million sent to Equateur by Kinshasa for decentralization. Acting Governor Jean-Claude Baende, Makila's rival, has also been accused by some provincial parliamentarians of embezzling public funds (Comment: All senior provincial politicians have likely committed embezzlement. The question is not whether, but how much. Baende is accused of misappropriating several hundred thousand dollars compared to Makila's $3.8 million. End comment). ¶3. (U) Provincial Interior Minister Guy Ingenge reacted negatively to the Senate's decision, arguing that constitutionally the Senate had no right to undertake such a mission. Noting that the federal Ministry of Finance had recently carried out an audit of the province's finances, Ingenge said the commission would only be welcome in Equateur "as tourists." ¶4. (C) Comment: All actors, including Makila's MLC party, now understand that the governor's career is finished. There are reportedly three MLC candidates jockeying for their party's support to become governor. Although the MLC enjoys a majority in the provincial parliament, it is unclear if it will be able to keep the governorship, the only governorship that the AMP does not hold. There has been much speculation that President Kabila would take advantage of Makila's missteps to either try to install an AMP governor or an independent close to the presidency. In fact, many observers (reftel) believe Baende, who is an independent, is already "Kabila's man" in Mbandaka. If, however, Baende cannot muster some support amongst MLC circles, Kabila may try to co-opt one of the MLC candidates. The AMP has not yet announced if it will field a candidate. One thing is for certain: there will be relatively large sums of money circulating in the corridors of the provincial assembly the next several weeks. End comment. BROCK