Rumourville

Friday 4th February 2011

Lubumbashi airport has been closed down!

The Governor of Katanga’s been assassinated!

Katanga has seceded!

These were the rumours buzzing around last Friday. “It’s the beginning of the revolt against President Kabila”, some said, rubbing their hands with glee.

As soon as the first flurry of rumours started, everyone who knew anyone in Lubumbashi phoned to find out what was happening.

Our office was not much help. All they knew was that the town was eerily quiet and the shops had suddenly closed. Shots had definitely been heard from the airport. Two members of staff staying in a hotel had been told not to go out as it was too dangerous.

Two USAID NGOs added their reports to the mix. One confirmed that there was a rumour about the Governor being assassinated, all agreed that there was definitely a problem at the airport.

So what really happened?

There are several versions, each with its own delicious mix of fact and rumour.

One story is that to counter the opposition protests against President Kabila’s changes to the constitution (see earlier blog), “spontaneous” demonstrations had been organised in his support. The Mayor of Lubumbashi rounded up a crowd (all wives of soldiers posted in Lubumbashi), and an impressive demonstration of loyalty had been mounted.

All went well until the women decided to have another demonstration: this time it was to demand pay for participating in the march. The Mayor said “nothing doing” so they went to the Governor, whom everyone knows to be very rich. He said also sent them away empty handed.

This was the last straw, and the story goes that they now had no choice but to ask their husbands, the soldiers, for support. The soldiers wasted no time in demonstrating their devotion by attacking the airport, though much to their dismay, the attack was repulsed by the (mostly non-Congolese) presidential guard.

Another version is that a car being driven too fast had hit one of the women in the march. This ignited their anger, and they marched to the airport to demand action, where they were met by the presidential guard, who shot in the air to calm things down.

Others say that the airport raid was serious, and that it really was the first step in a secession by Katanga, which is the richest province and deeply resents sharing its money with the rest of the country.

As to the Governor – that was clearly pure speculation. Shortly after the rumour about his assassination he came onto the radio to announce that he was alive and well. So that put an end to that story. In response to further questioning about what had been happening, his very unconvincing reply was “Nothing.”

Who knows?

It’s not surprising that people are jittery here. On Friday the emails came thick and fast, giving one the vicarious feeling of being part of the action. For those of us not used to these things it can be quite exciting.

We have to get used to it, they say. Those who’ve been here for a long time recall the horrors of the military lootings in the 1990s, the fighting around the last elections, and numerous more minor disturbances over the years. We are told there is every chance that there will be major violence this election year. The embassies are all preparing evacuation plans, laying in big stocks of emergency rations, and making sure that they have good communication systems with their citizens.

Something to look forward to.