(Rapaport…November 12, 2002) Dozens of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials have been suspended by President Joseph Kabila because they were linked to the conflict diamond trade in a recent United Nations (UN) analysis, the Associated Press reported.
Among those suspended are Mwenze Kongolo, the national security minister, Katumba Mwanke, the DRC’s top negotiator at peace talks aimed at ending its war, and Didier Kazadi Nyembwe, head of the national security agency.
Kabila had fired the head of the state diamond company, Charles Okoto — who also had been linked to the conflict trade — on November 3. A judicial inquiry will follow the suspensions, a presidential spokesman said.