Lambert Mende accuses Kabila's camp of treating the state as personal property

During an online debate with Franck Diongo, Lambert Mende denounced a “patrimonial” view of the state and challenged arguments used to justify Joseph Kabila's armed engagement at the head of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation. He said power belongs to the people and that Félix Tshisekedi, like Joseph Kabila before him, was elected, rejecting the claim that Kabila personally handed power to Tshisekedi. Mende also disputed the description of rebel-controlled areas as “liberated,” citing the presence of 18,000 Rwandan soldiers, and said Tshisekedi had never refused dialogue.