Kinshasa's famous Triomphal Boulevard was crowded with members of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC), who came together to conduct a prayer session and ask for divine intervention for the release of their leader and President Felix Tshisekedi's former Chief of Staff, Vital Kamerhe.
Kamerhe was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty in the corruption trial of USD57 million, meant for the construction of social houses for the Congolese army and police.
Leading the prayer session was Kamerhe's wife Amida Shatur, who according to court papers largely benefited from the funds Kamerhe is believed to have embezzled.
Several attempts by Kamerhe's lawyer to seek his immediate release has failed, as the court refuses to grant such request.
Some senior members of UNC attending the prayer meeting, continue to proclaim the innocence of their leader and believed that this will be proven through divine justice.
After Kamerhe was sentenced, rights organisation Human Right Watch, warned that if other corrupt politicians were not prosecuted then Kamerhe's case will always be viewed as an act of political settlement.
According to an agreement signed between Felix Tshisekedi's UDPS and Kamerhe's UNC, Tshisekedi was to step down and support Kamerhe's 2023 Presidential ambition. However with Kamerhe in prison, the agreement no longer seems to hold.
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