Security has been increased in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for today’s opening ceremony of the Kinshasa 2023 Francophone Games.
Some 4,500 additional police and state security agents have been drafted into DRC capital, Kinshasa, according to Games Director, Isidore Kwandja Ngembo.
Competitors are to be escorted by police when travelling around the city and the athlete accommodation has been fitted with security cameras.
The murder of opposition spokesman, Cherubin Okende, earlier this month raised concerns about safety in the city and some Games participants are said be worried over security.
The International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) told Agence France Press that OIF Secretary General, Louise Mushikiwabo, a Rwandan, would not attend the Games.
Rwandan news sources insisted that no invitation had been sent to her.
Mushikiwabo had previously been Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Relations between Rwanda and the DRC have been strained in recent years.
It is expected that Mushikiwabo will be represented by OIF official, Caroline St-Hilaire, who arrived in Kinshasa yesterday.
The last Francophone Games took place in Cote d’Ivoire capital Abidjan before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2017.
The Games in Kinshasa had been twice postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organisers have faced delays in constructing facilities, but Kinshasa 2023 is expected to attract some 3,000 athletes from more than 40 countries, although the groups from Quebec and French speaking Wallonia in Belgium are said to have been reduced.
The Games will end on August 6. –Insidethegames.biz
