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KINSHASA (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on the homes of two Congolese ministers in an attack aimed at scaring them off testifying against ex-rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba in his war crimes trial, one of the officials targeted said on Monday.

Bemba backers dismissed the allegation as an attempt to discredit him before his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and prevent him from returning to Congolese politics should he be acquitted.

The assailants fired shots at the residences of Jose Endundo, Democratic Republic of Congo's environment minister, and Foreign Minister Alexis Thambwe-Mwamba on Sunday. No one was hurt and their houses were only slightly damanged. "They fired on the entrance gate and they left an envelope with a bullet and a message that read "Testify against Bemba and you will die". "The same thing happened to minister Thambwe-Mwamba," Endundo told Reuters on Monday.

The two ministers were members of Bemba's Congo Liberation Movement (MLC) that fought against Kabila's government during Congo's 1998-2003 war. They then served as MLC ministers in a 2003-2006 transitional government before joining a government of President Joseph Kabila's allies.

Neither minister has been called as a witness against Bemba but both were senior MLC members. Bemba, who was arrested in Belgium in 2008, faces charges that his rebels waged a campaign of torture, rape and murder in neighbouring Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003. Bemba has denied all the charges against him and, earlier this month, the ICC ordered his conditional release pending his trial. The court's prosecutor has appealed against the decision.

The MLC, currently the largest opposition group in parliament, said the attacks were part of a plot to derail Bemba's release rather than efforts to intimidate the ministers. "This is a crude set-up organised by the enemies of democracy, who fear a return of the leader of the opposition to the Congolese political scene," Thomas Luhaka, the MLC's acting secretary-general, told Reuters. Luhaka said he suspected members of Kabila's coalition government of staging the attacks.

Bemba lost a run-off election to Kabila in 2006 polls meant to draw a line under decades of dictatorship and a 1998-2003 war. He fled into exile following three days of fighting between remnants of his rebel movement and government soldiers in 2007.

Source: By Joe Bavier / Reuters news Africa

Ndri Romaric will miss the Ivory Coast's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso with a damaged knee ligament.

The midfielder picked up the injury playing for his Spanish club Sevilla as they lost 2-0 to Valencia.

His club say the 26-year-old could be out of action for three to four weeks.

The Elephants play Burkina Faso in Abidjan on 5 September aiming to maintain their 100 per cent record in the 2010 qualifying campaign.

Source: bbc sport

On Sun­day the 30th of August 2009, the peo­ple of Gabon will elect a new Pres­i­dent. Since 1967, the Gabonese peo­ple, only new one leader.

Omar Bongo had ruled Gabon for 42 years amidst charges of cor­rup­tion and mis­man­age­ment of pub­lic funds. He was able to hang on to power all these years by dis­man­tling polit­i­cal oppo­si­tion against him by any means pos­si­ble. Dur­ing his rule, his eldest Son Ali Ben Bongo was made Defence Min­is­ter to help pro­tect his father’s stay in power by ensur­ing the mil­i­tary was kept out of pol­i­tics.

Ben Bongo is now the can­di­date for the rul­ing party in the forth­com­ing elec­tions to be held on the 30th of August. He seems to have the best-financed cam­paign, the back­ing of secu­rity ser­vices, and the elec­toral infra­struc­ture of the rul­ing Gabonese Demo­c­ra­tic Party.  Recently he urged vot­ers to ignore rival can­di­dates who he says are trai­tors and liars who will turn their backs on the coun­try.

Five can­di­dates have with­drawn from the elec­tions to throw their sup­port behind for­mer inte­rior min­is­ter Andre Mba Obame. But Obame is unlikely to emerge as the lead­ing oppo­si­tion con­tender because long-time chal­lenger Pierre Mam­boundou remains in the race.

The Repub­lic of Gabon is Africa’s sixth-largest exporter of oil and the world’s fourth-biggest pro­ducer of man­ganese. But despite these resources 70% of its peo­ple live below the poverty line. Just before his death, Omar Bongo was fac­ing charges of cor­rup­tion in a French court. There are more than 30 Bongo fam­ily prop­er­ties in France worth nearly $200 mil­lion.
 

Source: NewstimeAfrica