Roundup: DR Congo opposition protest largely "successful" in Kinshasa

Kinshasa city experienced less activities on Tuesday following a "ghost town" protest called by opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Opposition parties working under the umbrella Rally for Political and Social Forces for Change, led by Etienne Tshisekedi, were protesting against potential extension of the mandate of incumbent President Joseph Kabila and the political dialogue whose preparatory meetings kicked off on Tuesday in Kinshasa.

Early Tuesday morning, streets and avenues in Kinshasa town were almost deserted with no one going to work and not many people were waiting for vehicles at the bus stations.

There were no students on the roads heading to universities or institutions of higher learning, and there was no traffic jam in the entire DR Congo capital.

Contrary to what happens every morning, there were not many public transport vehicles or taxis at the stations, and those that turned up, took a longer time waiting for passengers. Most of them were almost empty on the roads.

Some public transport vehicle drivers decided to park their vehicles. "Our business is already spoilt today. I prefer to park my vehicle to stop wasting fuel. I may end up making losses," a taxi driver in the capital, Michel Kadu, told Xinhua.

In Kinshasa city center, many shops, banks and other businesses did not open in the morning, but business picked up gradually in the afternoon.

In most strategic parts of the capital and along major streets, authorities had deployed police officers to prevent any eventual chaos.

In the run up to the protest, eyewitnesses told Xinhua some gun shots were heard on Monday night near the headquarters of the main opposition party, Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) of Tshisekedi.

The eyewitnesses said the headquarters which is situated in Limete commune in Kinshasa, had been surrounded by police officers.

However, police spokesman Colonel Mwana Mputu downplayed the situation when he spoke to Xinhua on phone, noting that there was no serious problem.

He said police officers intervened to disperse youths who wanted to burn tyres on a public road near the UDPS headquarters.

But some UDPS officials said the gun shots continued for a long time and those who were within the party offices had been surrounded by police officers.

Last month, clashes between UDPS members and police officers near the party's headquarters left one person dead.

The political climate has remained very tense in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the run up to the elections which were constitutionally supposed to be held by November this year.

However, the country's electoral commission has said it was impossible to organize the elections within that time frame due to technical constraints. Endit