DR Congo Opposition Delays Protests as the AU Steps In
DR CONGO · POLITICS
Key Facts
—The pause: DR Congo’s opposition coalition C64 postponed nationwide protests to July 22 after a mediation offer from the African Union’s current chair.
—The mediator: Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye stepped in, in his capacity as AU chairperson, to open talks between the government and the opposition.
—The dispute: C64 accuses President Félix Tshisekedi of using a proposed constitutional referendum to remove term limits and seek a third term — a charge the government denies.
—The trigger: In June, parliament adopted legislation creating the legal framework for a referendum that could lead to constitutional change.
—The coalition: C64 — named for Article 64 of the constitution, on resisting unconstitutional seizures of power — includes Martin Fayulu, Moïse Katumbi, Jean-Marc Kabund and Delly Sesanga.
The DR Congo protests planned against a proposed constitutional referendum have been postponed to July 22, after Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the African Union’s current chair, offered to mediate between the opposition and President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.
Why the DR Congo protests were called off, for now
The C64 coalition had called for nationwide demonstrations against what it describes as a drive to rewrite the constitution. It announced this week that the marches would move to July 22 to give the African Union initiative a chance.
The pause is tactical rather than a retreat. Coalition figures say the delay should add pressure on the government to engage, with the protest threat kept in reserve.
The marches had been expected to test the streets of Kinshasa and other major cities. Congolese demonstrations over constitutional questions have a history of turning deadly, which raises the stakes of every protest date.
What the opposition alleges
C64 takes its name from Article 64 of the Congolese constitution, which grants citizens the right to resist any unconstitutional seizure of power. Its leading figures include Martin Fayulu, Moïse Katumbi, Jean-Marc Kabund and Delly Sesanga, veterans of the country’s opposition politics.
The name itself is the argument. By invoking the resistance clause, the coalition frames the referendum question as constitutional self-defence rather than ordinary party politics.
The coalition calls the proposed reform a “constitutional coup”. It argues the referendum’s purpose is to lift presidential term limits so Tshisekedi, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2023, can seek a third term.
Its ranks carry weight. Fayulu claimed victory in the disputed 2018 election, and Katumbi — the mining-province governor turned business magnate — finished second in 2023, making C64 the broadest opposition front of Tshisekedi’s second term.
The government’s answer
The government denies that any third-term project exists. Officials present the referendum framework, which parliament adopted in June, as a sovereign process of constitutional modernisation whose content is not yet decided.
The current constitution, in force since 2006, limits presidents to two terms and entrenches that clause deeply. Any attempt to touch it was always going to be combustible in a country with no tradition of peaceful constitutional change.
Tshisekedi himself has publicly questioned whether a charter drafted under heavy international supervision still serves the country. Critics heard in that framing the opening bars of a term-limits fight, well before parliament acted.
The AU steps in
The African Union, for its part, has struggled for relevance in recent crises, from the Sahel coups to Sudan’s war. A visible mediation success in Kinshasa would be worth a great deal to the institution.
Ndayishimiye’s involvement gives both sides a ladder to climb down. As African Union chair, the Burundian president can convene talks without either camp conceding ground first, according to reporting carried by allAfrica on the postponement.
Burundi is a neighbour with direct stakes in Congolese stability, including soldiers who have fought alongside Kinshasa’s army against rebels in the east. That proximity gives the mediator leverage — and gives the opposition reason to scrutinise his neutrality.
Whether mediation produces a genuine compromise before July 22 is the open question. The coalition has set the new date as a deadline as much as a postponement.
Why it matters for investors
DR Congo is the world’s dominant cobalt producer and a top copper source, and its capital flows — from the Lobito corridor to new port and fibre projects — depend on political stability holding. A drawn-out constitutional crisis would put all of it at risk.
Chinese fibre lines, Emirati port concessions and Western minerals corridors all price in a state that holds together. Investors have learned to read Congolese protest calendars as closely as commodity charts.
The eastern war compounds the risk. The M23 conflict already ties down the army and the country’s diplomacy, and a constitutional confrontation in the capital would open a second front of instability the state can ill afford.
For now the referendum has no date and no published text — only a legal framework, a suspicious opposition and two weeks for diplomacy to work. The pattern is continental: 2026 has already produced a wave of term-limit fights, most recently in Zimbabwe, and how Kinshasa’s standoff resolves will echo well beyond the Congo River.
Frequently asked questions
Why were the DR Congo protests postponed?
The C64 opposition coalition moved its nationwide protests to July 22, 2026 after Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, current chair of the African Union, offered to mediate between the opposition and the government.
What is the C64 coalition?
It is a Congolese opposition alliance named for Article 64 of the constitution, which grants citizens the right to resist unconstitutional seizures of power. Its leaders include Martin Fayulu, Moïse Katumbi, Jean-Marc Kabund and Delly Sesanga.
What does the opposition accuse President Tshisekedi of?
C64 says a proposed constitutional referendum is designed to remove presidential term limits and allow Tshisekedi a third term, calling it a “constitutional coup”. The government denies seeking a third term.
What happens next in DR Congo?
African Union-brokered talks are expected before July 22, the new protest date. Parliament adopted the legal framework for a referendum in June, but no referendum has been scheduled.
Connected Coverage
The stakes ride on DR Congo’s economic build-out, which The Rio Times has tracked closely: a $1.5 billion fibre line along the Congo River, the country’s first deep-water Atlantic port at Banana, and a region where street pressure — as in Kenya’s Saba Saba protests — increasingly shapes politics.
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