This archive report was first published on 27 June 2020.
Published on June 27, 2020, a ministerial source revealed that DR Congo Justice Minister Celestin Tunda Ya Kasende was arrested a day after clashing with President Felix Tshisekedi over the contentious judicial reforms.
The proposed reforms, backed by supporters of former President Joseph Kabila, have caused a significant rift in the fragile government coalition.
According to lawmaker Felix Kabange Numbi, Tunda Ya Kasenda was taken to the prosecutor's office after being surrounded by a dozen officers at his Kinshasa home.
"I am serene. I'm a member of the government and I have immunity," the minister, a supporter of Kabila, had told AFP by phone shortly before his arrest.
The reforms, put forward by the Common Front for Congo (FCC), a coalition close to Kabila, include proposals to define the powers of judges, which critics argue is a ploy to muzzle the judiciary.
The FCC, which sits in an uneasy coalition with Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), accounts for most of the 66 government ministers as well as the prime minister.
Over two days this week, angry demonstrators, mainly UDPS supporters and some armed with petrol bombs, blocked traffic outside parliament, erecting barriers and burning tyres in a protest over the legal changes.
