DRC ex-warlord gets hero's welcome on return home

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - Thousands of people gave a hero’s welcome to former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba on Wednesday upon his return from Hague where he had been imprisoned for a decade following his conviction on crimes against humanity charges.

The ex-warlord’s supporters sang songs praising him and also danced in the middle of the streets. So many people lined up on the roads to N’djili International Airport in capital Kinshasa that police resorted to using tear gas to clear the path.

''He came in a private jet from Belgium to N'djili international airport where thousands of his supporters welcomed him,'' security officer Lt. Perez Mbushi said.

''Police had to use tear gas and firing in air to disperse his supporters who were in the middle of the road from the airport to capital Kinshasa,'' Mbushi said.

Bemba, 55, had spent 10 years at a prison in Hague after he was found guilty of committing crimes against humanity. He had been convicted on charges of murder, rape and pillage committed by his militia in neighboring Central African Republic in 2002.

However, he later won an appealed against his conviction. Bemba had appealed against his conviction at the International Criminal Court, which quashed his convictions in May this year.

The leader of the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) party is expected to stand in the forthcoming presidential elections following his return to the country.

''We have come in big numbers to welcome our leader Bemba. The Congolese people hope that he will bring back sanity to our country. We are ready to vote in his favor," Peter Kabisi, a senior member of MLC party, said.

Presidential elections are set to take place in December this year.