On February 8, 2022,

Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has served as the fifth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 2019. He was the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Demo ...

, the president of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, reported a coup d'état. The reports of a coup emerged when Tshisekedi was attending the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

summit in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, of which he is the chairperson. The reports caused Tshisekedi to leave the summit early to deal with the internal conflict in his country.

Background

Since 2020, the greater African region has experienced waves of coup attempts, which began with the 2020 coup in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, and more recently in 2022 in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, as well as a failed coup attempt in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

. The coup wave became one of the main topics of discussion in the 35th African Union Summit. On 2 February 2022, 50 people were killed in a militia attack.

Coup attempt

In February 2022, President Félix Tshisekedi was heading to Addis Ababa to attend the 35th African Union Summit. Tshisekedi was serving as chairperson of the Summit, though his term was nearing its end. During the summit, Tshisekedi received a report that there were indications that his country was facing a national security threat. This led Tshisekedi to leave the summit abruptly in order to deal with the national security issues in his country. After the reports of the threat, Presidential spokesman Tharcisse Kasongo Mwema addressed the country on national television, stating that the government had found "evidence" of national security threat. Mwema also stated that an investigation was ongoing and that any attempts to destabilize the country would not be tolerated. On February 9, Tshisekedi's security aide, François Beya was reportedly arrested, according to a report from Georges Kapiamba, president of the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (ACAJ). In the report, Kapiamba claimed he met Beya during his detention and that Beya had denied all the allegations against him.

Union for Democracy and Social Progress The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (, UDPS) is a major political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Founded in 1982, amid the one-party rule of Mobutu Sese Seko and his Popular Movement of the Revolution, it is the co ...

legislator Auguy Kalonji said that the country has "escaped" the coup without clarifying the plotter.

References

{{Plots and conspiracies

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

2020s coups d'état and coup attempts February 2022 crimes in Africa February 2022 in Ethiopia 2020s in Addis Ababa Attempted coups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Military coups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo–Ethiopia relations

Background

Coup attempt

See also

References