The Congolese former minister Cherubin Okende, who was until this week a member of the opposition in parliament, has been found dead in his car.
His body was found on Thursday morning riddled with bullets in the capital Kinshasa, officials said, on one of the city's main highways.
He was a member of the party of Moise Katumbi, a leading opposition politician who is set to contest the presidential election in the central African nation in December.
An official in Katumbi's team told French news service AFP on Thursday that Okende, 61, had disappeared on Wednesday after travelling to an appointment at the constitutional court in Kinshasa.
A country in shock
Katumbi told RFI: "It's a political assassination. They want to reduce us to silence."
He requested an immediate investigation and expressed his deep concern about the state of politics in the country.
#DRC is killing innocents, R.I.P Excellent Herubin Okende; "justice delayed is denied", and the number of victims grows the longer it is delayed. This is too much in the DRC, But though we won't be heard, we won't cease to announce.@LwarhibaM @PatrickMuyaya @UNOCHA_DRC #JUSTICE pic.twitter.com/wlfDCzdYkl
— 𝙹𝙾𝙷𝙽_𝙼𝚄𝙶𝙴𝚈𝙾 Kizza🔄🇨🇩 (@John_Mugeyo) July 13, 2023
The European Union ambassador to the DRC and the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in the country also condemned the murder.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's presidency urged an investigation to shed full light on the matter and punish those responsible for "this despicable act", adding that Okende had died in "tragic circumstances".
Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya tweeted that the government was shocked to learn of the assassination and that it had ordered a probe.
On Friday morning, the authorities announced that a suspect was arrested.
Impact on the coming election
Okende had been transport minister before he resigned from office in December 2022, at the same time as two other ministers in Katumbi's camp.
Katumbi had then announced his presidential bid and withdrawn his 'Ensemble pour la Republique' party from the ruling coalition.
President Felix Tshisekedi, who came to office in January 2019, is also due to stand for re-election.
Several of the leading opposition figures, including Katumbi and former presidential candidate Martin Fayulu, have insisted the nation's electoral authority is planning a fraudulent poll.
(With newswires)
