By Emmanuel Nduka
Government Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have lifted a ban on a song that criticises President Félix Tshisekedi.
The country’s Censorship Commission announced the ban on Tuesday by the and later lifted it on Wednesday with the intervention of the Minister of Justice.
MPR, the group behind the music, also said it had requested for the ban which was largely seen as dictatorial and was widely criticised, to be lifted.
With the lifting, media houses have now been allowed to broadcast the song ‘Nini Tosali Te, What Didn’t We Do’ in the Lingala language.
The song compares what Mr Tshisekedi promised when he was in the opposition with what he has so far achieved as president.
“You promised us happiness after, the late President, Mobutu left. Mobutu went but we didn’t get anything. You said you would fix things if, the former president Kabila stepped down. Kabila left but it’s still hard.” The AFP news agency quotes the lyrics.
Meanwhile, one other song in French, ‘Letter to Ya Tshitshi’, the nickname of Mr Tshisekedi’s late father, Etienne, remains banned.
The singer, Bob Elvis, says: “Since you’ve gone, your son Felix has become president… We have changed regime without changing the system.”
Government Spokesman, Patrick Muyaya tweeted that the ban did not come from the government. “Any citizen is free to express his opinion, provided it is in line with the law,” he said.
According to the Actualite Congo news website, the number of views for the two songs have increased on YouTube since the ban.
