DRC's President appoints Sama Lukonde Kyenge as Prime Minister

Kinshasa,

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed Sama Lukonde Kyenge as the country’s new Prime Minister, according to an announcement made live on national television RTNC.

This follows the resignation of Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, who was appointed DRC's prime minister in May 2019 and deposed by Parliament at the end of last month.

The resignation came after a crisis within the FCC-CACH coalition.

Mr Kyenge, born in 1977, has been the chief executive officer of Gécamines, the largest public mining company, since 2019.

He is close to Moïse Katumbi, the former governor of the province of greater Katanga.

An engineer by training, Mr Kyenge resigned in September 2015 from his duties as Sports minister to obey the instructions of his party, Avenir du Congo (Congo's future), excluded from the presidential majority for protesting against Mr Kabila’s possible third term.

His political party, the G7, wrote to Mr Kabila, asking him not to run for a third term, a letter which became the basis for political upheaval.

Mr Kyenge has been in politics from a young age.

He is the son of Stéphane Lukonde Kyenge, an emblematic figure in Katanga politics, who was assassinated in 2001.

Mr Kyenge formally entered politics in 2003 and served as a national deputy three years later.

The new PM, who also had a brief stint in government in 2015, has the difficult task of setting up the new government team.

With Mr Kyenge in office, President Tshisekedi has a first head in mind on his new vision for the next government, the composition of which will be revealed in the coming days.

Additional reporting by Xinhua