According to decrees shown on state television, President Felix Tshisekedi reorganized the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s cabinet on Friday, appointing at least two opposition members.
Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka continues to lead the current cabinet, which has 53 members—one fewer than the previous administration.
The decrees also named former prime minister and opposition leader Adolphe Muzito as minister of budget and deputy prime minister.
The head of a minor opposition party, Floribert Anzuluni, was appointed regional integration minister.
Following political negotiations at the start of the year—which was characterized by a security crisis in the country’s east—the new cabinet was formed.
Rich in key minerals such as gold and coltan, eastern DRC has been riven by fighting between rival armed groups and interference by foreign powers for more than 30 years.
The region bordering Rwanda saw a fresh surge of violence this year when the M23 armed group, backed by Rwandan troops, captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu.
After months of broken truces, the DRC and M23 signed a declaration of principle on June 19 reaffirming their commitment to a permanent ceasefire.
But fresh attacks on civilians by the M23 and other armed groups killed at least 319 civilians in July, UN rights chief Volker Turk said this week.
According to Kinshasa and the UN, the region’s violence has killed thousands of people and worsened a humanitarian situation that has left hundreds of thousands of people refugees.
In December 2023, President Tshisekedi, who has been in government since 2019, was re-elected with over 73 percent of the vote, while the same day’s parliamentary elections saw parties in his coalition win about 90 percent of the seats.
Newly appointed to the cabinet, Muzito and Anzuluni also ran in the 2023 presidential election as opposition candidates, garnering about one percent of the vote and less than a tenth of the vote respectively.
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