In a powerful statement, Epenge denounced what he called a \u201chistoric betrayal\u201d orchestrated by President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, accusing him of mortgaging the nation\u2019s strategic resources \u2014 its minerals, national parks, lakes, gas reserves, gold, and fertile lands \u2014 in just six years of what he termed a \u201cfraudulently acquired presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory will remember that, in order to survive politically, F\u00e9lix Tshilombo chose to mortgage Congo\u2019s minerals, parks, lakes, gas, gold, and land \u2014 all within just six years of a corruptly obtained rule,\u201d declared Prince Epenge.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging the need for dialogue and agreements to restore peace in the conflict-torn East of the country, Prince Epenge firmly opposes what he describes as a \u201cco-management\u201d of Congo\u2019s destiny.<\/p>\n
According to Epenge, the true nature of the Washington agreement effectively grants Rwanda \u2014 through American corporate presence \u2014 what Paul Kagame failed to secure through warfare: massive and indirect access to Congo\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n
Under this arrangement, American companies would establish their operations in Rwanda, generating jobs and strengthening Kigali\u2019s economy, while the DRC would be reduced to a giant extraction site, with its natural riches siphoned off without bringing any sustainable development or benefits to its own people.<\/p>\n
Prince Epenge calls for vigilance and mass mobilization:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people must rise, for Congo \u2014 a land of future and hope \u2014 is under threat!\u201d<\/p>\n
He urges every Congolese citizen to resist the looting of their homeland disguised as peace deals, to reject the imposed co-management by foreign powers, and to defend the nation\u2019s sovereignty against diplomatic arrangements that primarily serve other nations\u2019 interests rather than Congo\u2019s own development.<\/p>\n
Key Stakes Surrounding the Washington Agreement
\n\u2022 National Sovereignty:
\nMajor risk of Congo losing real control over its strategic resources.
\n\u2022 Economic Development:
\nEconomic value and industrial growth would shift to Rwanda and multinational corporations, leaving Congo underdeveloped.
\n\u2022 Political Stability:
\nHeightened risk of internal tensions and public outrage over perceived national betrayal and dispossession.
\n\u2022 Sustainable Peace:
\nSerious doubts remain about whether such agreements can bring lasting peace if the root causes of conflict \u2014 resource plundering, economic marginalization, and manipulated ethnic tensions \u2014 are not addressed.<\/p>\n
At a time when the DRC seeks to emerge from decades of conflict and instability, the Washington agreement is seen by many not as a solution but as a new and profound threat to Congo\u2019s sovereignty, dignity, and the dreams of its people.<\/p>\n
As Prince Epenge solemnly reminds us, history will judge those who made critical decisions during these defining moments.<\/p>\n
The debate is wide open:
\nPeace \u2014 at what price?
\nDevelopment \u2014 for whose benefit?
\nCongo \u2014 for whom?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a powerful statement, Epenge denounced what he called a \u201chistoric betrayal\u201d orchestrated by President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, accusing him of mortgaging the nation\u2019s strategic resources \u2014 its minerals, national parks, lakes, gas reserves, gold, and fertile lands \u2014 in just six years of what he termed a \u201cfraudulently acquired presidency.\u201d \u201cHistory will remember that, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"float","share_float_style":"share-normal","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stands at a critical crossroads, where current political decisions could permanently shape the nation\u2019s future. Prince Epenge, a senior official of the LAMUKA coalition affiliated with Martin Fayulu, delivered a scathing response following the signing last Friday in Washington of a \u201cprinciples agreement\u201d between Kinshasa and Kigali."},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_review":[],"enable_review":"","type":"percentage","name":"","summary":"","brand":"","sku":"","good":[],"bad":[],"score_override":"","override_value":"","rating":[],"price":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[5314,5311,5312],"tags":[336,5593],"class_list":["post-17926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-international","category-justice","tag-felix-tshisekedi","tag-prince-epenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17928,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17926\/revisions\/17928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kivuavenir.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}