Kinshasa police disperse protest over Tshisekedi term-limit bill
Police used tear gas in Kinshasa on Friday as opposition supporters rallied against a constitutional proposal that opponents say could reopen Democratic Republic of the Congo President Félix Tshisekedi's route to a third term. The demonstration was organised by C64, an opposition alliance built around Article 64 of the constitution, and descended into clashes between opposition supporters and pro-government activists outside Parliament. The Congolese Constitution sets a five-year presidential mandate renewable once and Article 220 states that the number and duration of presidential mandates cannot be revised. A bill before the National Assembly would reportedly create an exception in cases of major institutional dysfunction, potentially followed by a referendum. Martin Fayulu's official Facebook footage showed the opposition figure injured during the rally. The confrontation lands in a country already under pressure from eastern fighting involving M23, an Ebola outbreak and unresolved memories of Joseph Kabila's delayed exit from power.
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About this story
Democratic Republic of the Congo (central African state, independent from Belgian rule in 1960) is Belgium's former colony and a major source of cobalt and copper. Kinshasa (DRC capital and seat of national institutions) is the political centre of the dispute. Félix Tshisekedi (DRC president since 2019, re-elected for a second term due to end in 2028) is the incumbent whose future eligibility is at stake. C64, or Coalition Article 64 (opposition alliance formed in 2026 around a constitutional article on resisting unconstitutional rule), organised the protest. The National Assembly (lower chamber of the DRC Parliament) is considering the disputed bill. Martin Fayulu (opposition leader and 2018 presidential runner-up) was among those shown injured. M23 (rebel movement active in eastern DRC and widely described by UN and Western governments as Rwanda-backed) remains a separate but destabilising security crisis. Joseph Kabila (DRC president from 2001 to 2019) is the precedent haunting term-limit politics.
How to read this story
The history
The Congolese Constitution adopted after the war-era transition created a two-term presidential limit; Constitute's text of Article 70 sets a five-year mandate renewable once, while Article 220 protects the number and duration of presidential mandates from revision. The precedent is Joseph Kabila's delayed exit: Brookings' 2016 analysis said critics viewed election postponement as a way to prolong his rule after his final term. Protests in 2015 and 2016 over electoral delays and term limits turned deadly, and the 2018 election eventually produced the country's first peaceful transfer of presidential power when Tshisekedi took office in January 2019.
The geopolitics
DRC politics sits inside a wider struggle over Central African security and strategic minerals. Eastern DRC's conflict with M23, Rwanda's disputed role, and global demand for cobalt, copper and coltan make Kinshasa's constitutional stability more than a domestic issue. A succession crisis would weaken a state already central to supply chains and regional security diplomacy.
Why now
The trigger is a proposed constitutional bill before the National Assembly that opponents say would create a path around protected presidential term-limit provisions. The rally matters now because Tshisekedi's second term runs to 2028, making succession planning politically active well before the formal campaign period.
What to watch
Watch whether the National Assembly publishes or advances the exact bill text, whether C64 announces further protests, whether police or hospitals release casualty and arrest figures, and whether Tshisekedi publicly rules in or rules out a 2028 referendum strategy.
Local impact
The most local Belgian effect is in Brussels' Congolese community, especially around Matongé in Ixelles, where DRC political developments often resonate through family ties, community organisations and diaspora debate. The story may also matter to Congolese-Belgian students, entrepreneurs and dual-national families following whether travel, remittances or political activism become more tense.
International angle
The European dimension is indirect but real. The EU has an interest in DRC stability through Great Lakes diplomacy, conflict-mineral rules and critical raw-material supply chains. Brussels also hosts the institutions that shape sanctions, humanitarian funding and due-diligence policy toward the DRC, Rwanda and armed-group financing in eastern Congo.
What this means for you
For Belgian and EU readers, nothing changes immediately in daily life. The practical takeaway is monitoring risk: diaspora families with travel plans, NGOs, companies and diplomats should watch Belgian foreign-affairs advice and EU security updates if Kinshasa unrest expands or if the constitutional fight begins affecting airports, public gatherings or diplomatic activity.
What happens next
The National Assembly could keep debating the bill, amend it, shelve it or move it toward a referendum route if the proposal survives. Opposition parties are likely to test whether C64 can sustain unity beyond the Kinshasa rally. Watch for official police casualty or arrest figures, a presidential response, and any Constitutional Court or parliamentary interpretation of Article 220.
Potential consequences
If the bill advances, the opposition could mobilise more street protests and frame the 2028 succession as illegitimate before the campaign even begins. A hard police response would raise human-rights scrutiny and could complicate Western diplomacy with Kinshasa while the government seeks support against M23. If the proposal is withdrawn, Tshisekedi may reduce immediate tension but still face pressure to clarify his succession intentions well before 2028.
Opposing perspectives
- C64 opposition coalition
C64 frames the bill as an attempt to breach Article 220's protected term-limit barrier and keep Félix Tshisekedi politically available beyond 2028. Its strongest argument is constitutional: once an exception is created for institutional dysfunction, the two-term rule becomes vulnerable to executive interpretation and referendum pressure.
- Tshisekedi supporters and pro-government activists
The pro-government frame is that constitutional reform can be legitimate if voters approve it and if institutions are paralysed. From this view, a referendum would express popular sovereignty rather than a palace manoeuvre, and the opposition is using the term-limit issue to weaken an elected president during wartime pressure.
- Constitutional-restraint analysts
The legal-restraint frame begins with the text of Article 220: some constitutional provisions are deliberately placed beyond ordinary revision. This view does not require judging Tshisekedi's intentions; it argues that changing the amendment rules around presidential mandates would damage the credibility of all future electoral guarantees.
Timeline
- 2006-02-18·The post-transition DRC Constitution was promulgated, including a two-term presidential framework.
- 2015-01-19·Protests erupted over election-law changes seen by opponents as enabling Joseph Kabila to stay in power.
- 2016-11-18·Brookings analysed the postponed DRC elections and critics' fears that delays would prolong Kabila's rule.
- 2018-12-30·The delayed presidential election was held after years of dispute over Kabila's succession.
- 2019-01-24·Félix Tshisekedi took office, marking the DRC's first peaceful presidential transfer.
- 2026-06-12·C64 supporters rallied in Kinshasa against a proposed constitutional change, and police used tear gas.
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.