Congo Police Fire Tear Gas as Protests Erupt Over Term-Limit Changes

Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo fired tear gas and warning shots on Tuesday to break up demonstrations against proposed constitutional changes that opponents say could open the door to a third term for President Felix Tshisekedi.

The opposition coalition C64 organised rallies in the capital, Kinshasa, and in several other cities, including Lubumbashi and Kindu in the east, despite restrictions on mass gatherings imposed because of a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak.

The Kinshasa protest drew hundreds of people and began peacefully before police moved in with tear gas after demonstrators clashed with supporters of the government.

Opposition leader Martin Fayulu, who took part in the rally, said the state was working alongside a political party militia. He described coming under fire and said he escaped unharmed, alleging that a massacre had taken place.

Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya criticised the opposition for disrupting daily activities by spreading what he called a false claim that schools would be closed on Tuesday. He said the right to protest is recognised in the constitution but must be exercised properly.

It was not the first such confrontation. Police also broke up a C64 rally in Kinshasa in June against the same proposed changes, and several people, including Fayulu, were injured.

The dispute centres on a bill before the National Assembly, the lower chamber of parliament. Congo's constitution bars any revision of presidential term limits, but the bill would allow the president to amend those provisions in the event of a "major dysfunction" that paralyses state institutions, potentially after a referendum.

Tshisekedi, 62, has held office since 2019 and is due to finish his second five-year term in 2028. He has said he would be willing to run for a third term if voters approved it in a referendum.

Congo's main opposition parties, long divided, united in May under the banner of C64, or Coalition Article 64, to resist what they describe as an attempt by Tshisekedi to stay in power. The coalition has called the proposed changes a serious threat to the country's stability.

The unrest adds to the pressures facing the government, which is also grappling with an Ebola outbreak and an escalation of the decades-long conflict with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, one of more than 100 armed groups competing for control in the eastern provinces.