Rebel appoints ex-government officers

The Rwandan-backed movement in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), has appointed to its ranks four former army officers who had been condemned to death the assassination of President Laurent-Desire Kabila. One of the men, Bora Uzima Kamwanya, was a major in the government army. He has been given the rank of brigadier general in the guerilla army. The others are Georges Mirindi, John Bahati and Amuri Chap Chap, all former lieutenants in the government army. They now hold the guerrilla rank of colonel. They all escaped government detention, after a military tribunal handed down their sentences. DRC State Prosecutor Luhonge Kabinda Ngoy told IRIN on Saturday that the nominations were "an act of provocation". The prosecutor of the Military Order Court that sentenced the four men, Col Charles Alamba, termed the nominations "irregular and illegal". However, the RCD chief of external relations, Joseph Mudumbi, said since the Military Order Court was abolished by the Sun City accord signed with the government in April 2002, the judgments were null and void. He said the nomination should not prevent agreement on the reunification of the army with other rebel groups. AFP reported that the RCD and the government "signed an agreement Saturday in Pretoria on a high command for an integrated armed force" for the country. Laurent-Desire Kabila was shot dead on 16 January 2001 by one of his bodyguards. Kabila's son, Joseph, succeeded him as president.