20 September 2009

he Mai Mai militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo are demanding the resignation of information minister, Lambert Mende, for insulting them. However, the Kabila government has denied the charge against its member.
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The armed group has therefore threatened to soon take drastic action if the President Kabila administration does not heed to their call.

Mende is alleged to have described members of the armed group as terrorists who killed innocent Congolese and destroyed properties. The spokesman of the Mai Mai militia, Didier Bitaki, is quoted as saying they would no longer tolerate the minister’s insults.

He said the information minister's action undermines the authority of President Kabila.

Bitaki said his group is demanding the immediate resignation of the information minister. The Mai Mai say before talking to the government, the minister must resign and have warned the government of a possible insurgency if the minister is not removed.

"Our combatants are still waiting here so if the minister does not take back his word, we are going to ask the president that we cannot continue to work with people who don't have any respect for us," Bitaki said.

But Information Minister Mende has dismissed the call for his removal as infantile. He is quoted as wishing the rebels good luck, adding that he has no comment to say “on such childish statement”.

“Nobody consulted them for me to be appointed as a member of government following my election in my constituency. And nobody will ask them for me to be removed from office," Mende said.

He said the armed group took advantage to attack innocent civilians. "We know how they went to the bush. They took opportunity from some disturbances that were created by other people. They are not the ones that created the disturbances," he said.

africanews