20111231
AP
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The party of Congo's opposition leader says he is under effective house arrest after he inaugurated himself president.

Party secretary general Jacquemain Shabani said Friday police have been stationed outside Etienne Tshisekedi's Kinshasa home since last Friday's ceremony and are preventing him from receiving visitors.

Tshisekedi held the private ceremony even though official results show he lost the November vote.

Interior Minister Adolphe Lumanu says police are there to maintain order and protect Tshisekedi.

Incumbent Joseph Kabila was declared the winner by the Supreme Court and inaugurated last week despite the fraud condemned by the international community. Observers have said it is not clear who won the vote in this mineral-rich country impoverished by decades of dictatorship and civil war.