I think that call for President Joseph Kabila, identifying him as the major stumbling block and problem in the Congo, coming from a country that is a member of SADC … it’s an important position to take in a region where countries seem to be, leaders, support each other and are afraid to criticize each other.”

A relative, carried by two men, reacts and mourns A relative, carried by two men, reacts to the death of a man who succumbed to a gunshot wound he sustained during a protest called by the Catholic Church, to push for Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila to step down, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Feb. 25, 2018. In a press release titled ‘Refusal by some leaders to hand over power’, the ministry of international affairs said the ‘worsening humanitarian situation’ in DRC is fulled by the fact that ‘its leader has persistently delayed holding elections, and has lost control over the security of his country’. Botswana's statement comes amid fresh uncertainty about Kabila's diplomatic standing among key African states following the resignation of his close ally Jacob Zuma as South African president this month. Botswana’s Foreign Ministry declined VOA’s request to elaborate on the statement, saying the words speak for themselves:

“Botswana urges the international community to put more pressure on the leadership in the Democratic Republic of Congo to relinquish power and pave way for the ushering in of a new political dispensation,” the statement reads. Organizers of anti-government marches in Congo say security forces shot dead at least four people and wounded dozens more in Sunday’s nationwide protest against President Joseph Kabila’s extended rule. Kabila denies he is trying to cling to power but has refused to publicly rule out trying to change the constitution to remove term limits that prevent him from running for re-election, as the presidents of neighbouring Congo Republic and Rwanda have done.
In a public statement, the foreign ministry of Botswana urges Joseph Kabila, the President of DR Congo, to step down since his term expired in December 2016, and hold the long-delayed new election.