Moise Katumbi: DR Congo magnate, soccer fan and presidential contender
DR Congo millionaire businessman and chairman of the country's leading football club, Moise Katumbi is a long-time opposition figure, who is now running for president.The 58-year-old -- who is crisscrossing the vast central African nation on his private jet meeting jubilant crowds -- runs his campaign with the same methodical precision he uses to manage his business empire."He's been thinking about it for five years, he's had the time to organise his campaign plan," said a diplomat, who requested anonymity.A former governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo's ex-Katanga province, Katumbi -- known for wearing hats cocked at a jaunty angle -- made his fortune in food, logistics and mining services.He was charged with land-grabbing and recruiting mercenaries under former president Joseph Kabila and went into de-facto exile in South Africa, nixing his political ambitions for a time.Katumbi was barred from running in the 2018 election that brought incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi to power and only returned to his native DR Congo in 2019.His Ensemble pour la Republique (Together for the Republic) party joined Tshisekedi's governing coalition.But the politician left the grouping late last year and announced a bid for the presidency in the December 20 election. Trouble has followed him since. One of his principal advisors Salomon Idi Kalonda was arrested in May, accused of colluding with M23 rebels and the group's alleged backers, Rwanda. Another close associate, the former minister Cherubin Okende, was murdered in the capital Kinshasa in July, in circumstances that remain unclear. A controversial bill has also been tabled in the national assembly seeking to restrict high office in the DRC to citizens with two Congolese parents.The move is viewed as an unsubtle attempt to hinder Katumbi: His father was a Sephardic Jew from Rhodes who fled to the then-Belgian Congo before the outbreak of World War II. Business empire Moise Katumbi was born in southeastern Congo where his father had settled and established a business. After finishing school, he began his career as an entrepreneur in the fisheries sector, with the state-owned mining company Gecamines as his main client. He diversified into agriculture, transport and services for copper and cobalt miners. A keen footballer, Katumbi in 1997 became the chairman of Tout Puissant Mazembe, a renowned Congolese football club based in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi. Katumbi is married with six children, a practising Catholic and a regular tennis player.Before getting into politics, the businessman was known to say that he disliked the political arena and the lying associated with it.He nevertheless took the plunge in 2007, when he was elected governor of the rich mining province of Katanga, a position he held until 2015. 'I am Congolese' Katumbi was the subject of a 2013 documentary by Belgian filmmaker Thierry Michel, dubbed "The Irresistible Rise of Moise Katumbi". In a portrayal that reportedly irked the businessman, the film represented Katumbi as a popular local figure, but also showed him doling out money to supporters and suggested that he used his political position to increase his fortune.During the current presidential campaign, Katumbi has sought to highlight his construction of roads and schools in Katanga during his tenure and promised to roll out similar development nationwide.Most analysts consider him the most serious threat to the incumbent, with four other presidential candidates having already pulled out of the race to line up behind Katumbi.But in the DRC, debate about his legitimacy continues to swirl. The Constitutional Court has validated his candidacy and also rejected a suit questioning his Congolese nationality. But some candidates on the campaign trail, including Tshisekedi have nevertheless painted Katumbi as a foreigner."They are lying," Katumbi told supporters at a recent rally in Kinshasa. "I am Congolese, this country is my country."
