Congo 'Coup' Leader in Hiding as Doubts Emerge

[Dover]

Congo 'Coup' Leader in Hiding as Doubts Emerge
By REUTERS

Published: June 12, 2004


Filed at 2:55 p.m. ET

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The leader of an apparent coup attempt in Congo has fled into a large forest, a spokesman for President Joseph Kabila said on Saturday, as ordinary people expressed skepticism about the official version of events.

Major Eric Lenge, a member of Kabila's personal guard, escaped from the capital Kinshasa on Friday after briefly taking over state radio and declaring himself in control. The incident was the second apparent effort to seize power in three months.
Gunshots and artillery fire were heard on Friday in Kinshasa but life had returned to normal on Saturday.

Officials in the vast central African country of more than 50 million people initially said the army had surrounded Lenge at the airport. But they later said troops were chasing him as he headed southwest into the province of Bas Congo.

..snip..

The apparent ease with which Lenge and only a small band of followers managed to escape fueled doubts on the streets of Kinshasa about the whole incident.

Some suggested it had been a ploy by Kabila's camp, to give him an excuse to prolong the transition period to elections due next year following the end of a five-year civil war....cont'd >>

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-congo-democratic.html