DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: President Joseph Kabila's chief adviser Kabila aide Augustin Katumba Mwanke dies in plane crash in Bukavu

Record ID: 382748

  • Title: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: President Joseph Kabila's chief adviser Kabila aide Augustin Katumba Mwanke dies in plane crash in Bukavu
  • Date: 13th February 2012
  • Summary: BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (FEBRUARY 12, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CRASH SITE AND DAMAGED PLANE VARIOUS OF RESCUE WORKERS SURROUNDING WRECKAGE PLANE RESCUE WORKERS CARRYING BODIES AWAY PLANE BEING HOSED DOWN DRC PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR INSIDE AN AMBULANCE BUKAVU DEPUTY GOVERNOR WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AT THE CRASH SITE MORE OF CRASHED PLANE (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNNAMED LOCAL WITNESS, SAYING: "I was there when the plane crashed, I was alone, I called out for help from nearby so that we could try and help those who were still in the plane. I had no idea who was onboard that aircraft, after the specialists came, we realised there was a governor and other senior members of government who survived." MORE OF WRECKAGE PEOPLE GATHERED LOOKING ON
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
  • Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of
  • Topics: Disasters,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACZTVMSHT4S28BA7D0BQTIP0YM
  • Story Text: DR. Congo's presidential aide dies and others are injured after a plane crash in Bukavu which also killed the pilot.
    Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila's chief adviser was killed and his finance minister seriously injured in an airplane crash near the eastern town of Bukavu on Sunday (February 12), officials said.
    The accident, the latest in a country with one of the world's worst air safety records, comes as Kabila braces for negotiations to form a new coalition government after his disputed victory in a chaotic election in November.
    Adviser Augustin Katumba Mwanke, 58, was regarded by many as "the power behind the throne", according to a leaked 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable. He was a former governor of the copper-rich province of Katanga and retained major influence in the country's minerals sector.
    The plane's pilot also died in the crash.
    Government officials at the site said Augustin Katumba Mwanke and roving ambassador Antoine Ngonda were "heavily wounded" in the crash and Marcellin Cishambo Rohuya, governor of the local South Kivu province, was lightly injured.
    No official death toll was immediately available and details of the crash were patchy.
    Unnamed locals said the small plane appeared to have overshot the runway. They called for help when it crashed in the bush and were able to rescue some 'people' whom they were not aware who they were until they came out of the aircraft.
    "I was there when the plane crashed, I was alone, I called out for help from nearby so that we could try and help those who were still in the plane. I had no idea who was onboard that aircraft, after the specialists came, we realised there was a governor and other senior members of government who survived," said local residents who witnessed the crash.
    Kabila has been in power since a 2006 vote that drew a line under years of war and chaos in the central African country. But progress in developing its wealth has been slow and critics say corruption remains rampant.
    Kabila was inaugurated for a new term in December despite broad misgivings over the Nov. 28 poll, which was marred by bad organisation and evidence of irregularities that sparked protests. Human Rights Watch said at least 24 people have been killed by security forces since results were announced.
    Kabila's ruling party has also emerged in the lead from parliamentary elections held on the same day, but it won fewer seats than it had before, complicating the president's task of forming a solid coalition government.Questions none
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