DR Congo: President Tshisekedi names new prime minister

President Felix Tshisekedi has named Sylvestre Ilunga Ilukamba as the new prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The move was announced on Monday by presidential spokesman Kasongo Mwema Yambayamba, who said Ilukamba was appointed under a political agreement between Tshisekedi and his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.

lukamba was previously the head of the DRC’s national railway company.

He also served as finance minister under former President Mobutu Sese Seko, who for more than three decades headed a corrupt and dysfunctional administration.

Tshisekedi-Kabila coalition

His appointment comes almost five months after Tshisekedi was declared the winner of a December 30 election which observers said was marred by irregularities and opponents denounced as rigged.

In March, Tshisekedi and Kabila issued a joint statement confirming “their common will to govern together as part of a coalition government” with Kabila’s Common Front for Congo coalition holding 342 of the 485 seats in the DRC’s parliament following the poll.

Kabila governed the largely impoverished but mineral-rich central African country for 18 years before leaving office.

His final two years in charge saw him stay beyond the maximum term limit permitted by the DRC’s constitution and instead oversee a crackdown on protesters calling for him to quit.

More soon …