The leader of Sunday’s attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been killed and about 50 people, including three U.S. citizens, have been arrested, a military spokesman told Reuters.
A Reuters reporter said that gunfire rang out in the capital Kinshasa around 4 a.m. Spokesman Sylvain Ekenge said armed men attacked the presidential palace in the city center.
Kamerhe’s spokesman Michel Moto Muhima and the Japanese ambassador posted on Twitter/X that another attack occurred near Vital Kamerhe Home.
Moto Muhima said two guards and an attacker were killed in that incident. Ekenger also said one of the attackers was killed there.
A shell fired from Kinshasa hit the city of Brazzaville in neighboring Republic of Congo, injuring several people, the government said in a statement, adding that one person had been hospitalized.
Ekenger named Christian Malanga, a Congolese politician based in the United States, as leader of the attempted coup.
“Malanga was completely eliminated in the attack on the National Palace, Abubakar was eliminated in the attack on Vital Kamach’s house, and others – about 50 people, including three US citizens – were arrested and are currently being investigated Subject to interrogation by specialized units of the armed forces,” Ekenger told Reuters.
He said Malanga first attempted a coup in 2017 but failed and that one of the U.S. citizens arrested was Malanga’s son.
A Facebook page that appears to belong to Malanga posted a live video of what appears to be the attack.
“We, the militants, are tired. We cannot delay Tshisekedi and Kamelhe any longer, they have done too many stupid things in this country,” Malanga says in the video in Lingala. The footage has not been independently confirmed by Reuters.
U.S. Ambassador Lucy Tamlin posted on social media that she was “very concerned” about reports that U.S. citizens were involved in the incidents.
“Rest assured, we will fully cooperate with authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in investigating these crimes and holding accountable any U.S. citizen who participated in them,” she said.
The U.S. Embassy earlier issued a security alert for “ongoing activity by security personnel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” and reported gunfire in the area.
The United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo stated that its head, Bintou Keita, condemned these incidents in the strongest possible terms and posted a message on X expressing support for the Congolese authorities.
Tshisekedi was re-elected to a second term as president in December but has yet to name a government six weeks after appointing a prime minister.
Kamekh is a candidate for parliament speaker in an election scheduled for Saturday but postponed by Tshisekedi.
