Talks in DR Congo to resolve a political deadlock are to resume only next week. Mediators fear that a failure to resolve differences between the opposition and President Kabila could lead to political violence.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
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Crisis talks between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila's party and the opposition have been "suspended" until next week, said mediators of the Catholic Church on Saturday.
Under the Congolese constitution, Kabila (shown above) is banned from standing for a third presidential term. However, he has shown no signs that he will step down when his second term officially ends on Monday.
"Given the breadth of the topics, participants came to the conclusion that these questions should not be dealt with hastily," said Monsignor Marcel Utembi, who heads the Congolese bishops conference (CENCO).
"Meanwhile, we ask everyone to pray for our country," he added, fearing the political deadlock may prompt political violence.
Church leaders have warned that the failure to find a political settlement may lead to "an uncontrollable situation."
Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) criticized Kabila for failing to reach a deal ahead of the Monday deadline.
"The ruling majority is sitting on its positions and refuses to offer any concessions on matters that require a political response," said UDPS Secretary General Jean-Marc Kabund.
Under pressure
Preparing for protests slated for Monday, the government ordered social networks, including Facebook and WhatsApp, to be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 UTC) Sunday. Police also constructed roadblocks in the capital, Kinshasa, to prevent mass assembly.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Saturday warned government forces of using violence against Congolese citizens ahead of the Monday deadline.
"We call on the government, and especially its security forces, to take all necessary measures to guarantee the rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly," said al-Hussein.
Congo has witnessed the deadliest conflict in modern African history, with two wars in the late 1990s and early 200s that left more than 3 million people dead.
In September, clashes between protesters and police prompted by the electoral commission's failure to schedule new elections left more than 50 people dead in the capital.
50 years of Kinshasa
Half a century ago, Leopoldville was renamed Kinshasa. The capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa's third largest metropolis after Lagos and Cairo and the city is booming.
Image: Per-Anders Petterson
The struggle for independence
In 1959, demonstrators took to the streets of Leopoldville to call for Congolese independence and the end of Belgian colonial rule. There was a brutal crackdown and 40 people were killed. A further 250 were injured. Independence was finally achieved on June 30, 1960.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AKG Images/P. Almasy
Kinshasa's gyrobuses
1955: An electric bus, powered by energy stored in a rotating flywheel, is charged up at a docking station in Leopoldville. The gyrobuses had a range of 3 kilometers (2 miles) and were imported by Belgian colonial administrators from Switzerland. Ten million people travelled on them during their first year in operation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Keystone Pictures
The arrival of a dictator
November 30, 1965: President Joseph Mobutu in parliament in Leopoldville. He had come to power five days earlier in a coup ousting President Joseph Kasavubu. One year later, Leopoldville was renamed Kinshasa. Mobutu's dictatorship lasted three decades until he was forced into exile in 1997.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Kinshasa titan
1974: Security personnel accompanying US boxing legend Muhammad Ali as he leaves the training center in Kinshasa. Ali defeated George Foreman in the "Battle of the Titans" on October 30, 1974. 60,000 fans watched the historic spectacle in Kinshasa Stadium and were joined by millions of television viewers around the globe.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Ali's legacy
The late Muhammad Ali remains an inspiration to Kinshasa's youth to this day. There is a boxing club named "Muhammad Ali holds his head high" where boys and girls can learn to box. One girl told DW "I feel as if I'm Ali's granddaughter. I know so much about him."
Image: DW/S. Mwanamilongo
Traffic robots fight congestion
Robots, not police, direct the traffic at the central Asosa junction in Kinshasa. The robots, equipped with four cameras, send data to a control center which analyzes the traffic flow. The project is run by a group of Congolese engineers from the Kinshasa Institute of Applied Technology.
Image: D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images
Kinshasa Fashion Week
Congolese designers scale the heights of fashion. Their creations are colorful, daring and elegant. This one was crafted by designer Papa Griffe and shown at the Kinshasa Fashion Week in July 2015. The annual fashion show was launched by Marie-France Idikayo in 2011 to promote African designers globally.
Image: DW/J. Bompengo
Not going to waste
This is also Kinshasa. Children search through rubbish for plastic which can be recycled. They bring what they find to recycling plants like this one, run by a local NGO "Vie Montante." The children receive a small but regular income in exchange for the plastic they collect.
Image: Vie montante Développement
Kinshasa 2016: Everything goes?
Under Mobutu's regime this would have been unthinkable. Performance artist Julie Djikey turned herself into a "human automobile" with her body dripping with oil and oil filters on her breasts to protest against pollution. Her message to the women of Kinshasa: "The measure of a woman's courage is the strength of her resolve when faced with difficulties and suffering."
