Exiled Congo opposition leader Katumbi says he will return home by June

Moise Katumbi speaks to the press in Geneva, on June 2, 2017. Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Exiled Congolese opposition leader Moise Katumbi vowed on Monday to return to Democratic Republic of Congo by June to lodge his candidacy for a presidential election to replace President Joseph Kabila, currently scheduled for December.

“I’m not scared of returning to Congo,” Katumbi told a news conference in Johannesburg. He left Congo in May 2016 for medical treatment after being accused by prosecutors of hiring mercenaries.

“I will be there to present my candidacy,” he said, although he declined to give a more precise date.