President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) met and held discussions with opposition politician Martin Fayulu.
On Thursday, June 3, Tshisekedi received Fayulu and his delegation at his office.
This politician had recently requested a meeting with Tshisekedi to discuss ways to save the DRC from crises that threaten its institutions and sovereignty.
It was Fayulu who requested the meeting, despite their longstanding political rivalry following the disputed 2018 presidential elections, during which Fayulu claimed Tshisekedi had stolen his victory.
Photos released by the DRC Presidency show Tshisekedi embracing Fayulu as he welcomed him, telling him, “I’m happy to see you, we are going to have an open-hearted discussion.”
The conversation between Tshisekedi and Martin Fayulu lasted nearly two hours.
Fayulu, who leads the LAMUKA coalition, told the press afterward that one of his main requests to Tshisekedi was that he meet urgently with bishops from the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and pastors from the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) to jointly find solutions to the country’s problems.
He said: “The country is going through very difficult times. We are under threat from all sides. We need national unity. I came to tell him that we don’t have 36 solutions. We must be one.”
He continued: “Considering all our issues—social, political, and security—the answer lies in inclusive national dialogue. I asked him to do everything possible to meet with the bishops of CENCO and the pastors of ECC, so we can work together on a national covenant for survival.”
President Tshisekedi reportedly agreed to provide a prompt response to this request.
This meeting came despite Fayulu’s history of accusing Tshisekedi of destroying the DRC and “selling out” the country due to an alleged lack of leadership ability.
