[FRANCE24] Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi has been indicted on charges of hiring mercenaries as part of a plot against long-standing President Joseph Kabila, and a warrant is out for his arrest, government front man Lambert Mende said on Thursday.Katumbi, who is running for president in elections scheduled for November, has been accused of hiring mercenaries, including former US soldiers. He denies the allegations.
Mende told AFP that Katumbi "can either be put under house arrest or be jugged
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
"The prosecutors have handed their ruling. He is no longer free and he can no longer do what he wants," Mende said.
Prosecutors said Katumbi had been charged with undermining "the state's internal and external security".
Katumbi was not available for comment on Thursday.
Political tensions are high in Congo, where dozens were killed in January 2015 in protests over a proposed revision of the electoral law that critics said was a ploy to keep Kabila in power beyond the end of his mandate.