Kabila murder suspects protest

Laurent Kabila: Made many enemies

Twelve men in jail in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of the former President Laurent Kabila, have gone on hunger strike.

Announcing the news in Kinshasa, the wives of the hunger strikers said they included 11 soldiers and a Congolese diplomat.

They said the protest, which had already lasted a week, was to demand that evidence against the suspects should be made public, or they should be released.

The Congolese authorities say just over 100 people remain in custody in connection with the killing of President Kabila in January, including soldiers and officials close to him.

No criminal proceedings have been announced against any of the detainees.

"Our husbands will not eat until they are freed," Mami Mandungia told a news conference.

Inquiry

Last week, an official inquiry into the assassination pointed the finger at the country's enemies in the two-and-a-half year war and said January's murder was part of a coup d'etat attempt.

Prime-suspect Colonel Kapend was not mentioned in the heavily criticised report

However, it offered no evidence to support the claim and Rwanda, Uganda and Congolese rebels dismissed the claims.

The report named the assassin as bodyguard Rashidi Mizele but says he was part of a wider coup attempt.

The lack of names in the report led one Kinshasa newspaper to say that "we are swimming in vagueness". Another said that the memory of Mr Kabila had been betrayed.

Laurent Kabila had acquired many enemies and was seen as a stumbling block to the peace process aimed at ending the country's war.

His son Joseph Kabila, who replaced him as head of state, has made much more progress.