DR Congo opposition politician Moïse Katumbi who came second after running for president in the December 20, 2023 elections, has been barred from leaving his residence after he called for the cancellation of the poll results.

His party, Ensemble pour la République, said blocking him from leaving his home in Haut-Katanga province was a "de facto house arrest.” The 59-year-old businessman and former governor of Katanga province got 18 per cent of the votes while incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi got 73 per cent, according to the electoral commission (CENI).

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Opposition candidates and observers said there were irregularities and logistical issues in the elections, in which Tshisekedi sought a second five-year term. In a statement, on January 6, Katumbi alleged that the election was marred by "massive fraud and treachery” and asked the head of CENI, Dennis Kadima, to resign.

On Monday, January 8, Katumbi’s party said he was barred from leaving his home and was surrounded by "heavily armed soldiers.”

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Videos circulated on Congolese social media showing Katumbi in his car talking with policemen, who allegedly blocked his passage.

"President Moïse Katumbi is prohibited from leaving his residence in Kashobwe by heavily armed soldiers traveling in armoured vehicles surrounding his house,” Katumbi’s spokesperson Olivier Kamitatu said in a video posted by his party on X on Monday.

"This situation, which amounts to de facto house arrest, is part of a process, a dictatorial escalation of power, which seeks to crush any form of democratic, peaceful and non-violent opposition.”

Kamitatu said Katumbi was "a free citizen in his country in which he has the right to express himself and move around completely freely,” adding that "the encirclement of his residence has no legal basis.”

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"The government is simply seeking to intimidate a political leader whose only crime is to demand the cancellation of the most fraudulent elections ever organized in our country,” Kamitatu said.

On January 5, the electoral commission annulled votes for 82 candidates, including three ministers and four governors over fraud and violence during the elections but its announcement did not address the issue of irregularities during the presidential polls.

Katumbi accused the electoral commission of seeking to "maintain the current regime in power.”