kabila aide to be buried on Wednesday

DRC President Joseph Kabila’s senior advisor who died in a plane crash last Sunday will be buried Wednesday (tomorrow), it has been announced.

Mr Augustin Katumba Mwanke, who was also an MP, died when a private jet ferrying him and others crashed at Kavumu airport, near Bukavu in eastern DRC.

The ill-fated aircraft belonged to Katanga express company

Mr Mwanke will be buried at his Pweto home area, Katanga Province.

His body was taken to both parliament and his residence in Kinshasa where it was viewed by, among other, President Kabila.

The bodies of the two American pilots, who also perished in the plane crash, were transferred to Kinshasa awaiting onward journey to their final resting place.

Finance minister Augustin Matata Ponyo and the governor of the South Kivu province, Mr Marcellin Chisambo, who survived the air mishap with injuries, were transferred to South Africa for medical care.

Human error

The government sent a team of investigators to the accident scene, but so far, no details about the possible cause of crash have been made available.

According to Transport minister Laban Kyalangilwa, the weather conditions were good and the aircraft had no technical problems.

Internal Affairs Adolphe Lumanu alluded to possible human error. “There was a bad appreciation of the air field,” he told reporters.

Indeed, it was the first time for the pilot to land at Kavumu airport, which is located in a hilly area.

Mr Mwanke’s death came just three days ahead of the official opening of the new parliament session on Thursday. He was said to have been part of the team crafting the new government.

The man who was reputed to one of President Kabila’s closest confidants, worked for a long time in South African as a banker after he left the University of Lubumbashi in Katanga.

He had also served as governor of the rich Katanga Province under President Laurent Desire Kabila.

In early 2,000, a UN report implicated him in illegal natural resources trade. He was also believed to have played a major role in the establishment of business contracts between DRC and China.