The region is within weeks of declaring itself EBOLA free after an outbreak that started last year.

The COVID 19 case in Goma is the first of the 17 cases of coronavirus in the DRC not originating in Kinshasa.

Authorities had planned a complicated three-week programme of four-day lockdowns in the capital followed by three days of allowing shopping for food.

This has been cancelled because the danger of unrest and price gouging by food merchants.

Public resistance to the fight against EBOLA has prolonged the second worst epidemic of the hemorrhagic fever in history.

The 3440 confirmed cases killed 2264 people 

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Speaking after talks in Kinshasa the UN chief said MONUSCO would have increased cooperation from the DRC forces.

Antonio Guterres says the DRC is at an historic moment  that could herald the development of democratic institutions.

Both government and opposition have a vision for the future of the Central African giant.

He calls on rebel groups to lay down their arms and integrate with the official Congolese forces.

At the end of a three-day visit to the DRC, the UN chief commits the world organization to intensify cooperation for inclusive and sustainable development.

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Their statements come ahead of the arrival in Kinshasa of a delegation from the African Union that says there are serious doubts about the result of the Presidential poll in Congo.

The statements from President Cyril Ramaphosa and SADC come after the Constitutional Court in the DRC threw out an appeal against the provisional election result by Martin Fayulu who claims to have won more than twice the 34,8% of votes allocated to  him by the electoral commission.

The African Union joins France, Belgium and the Catholic Bishops in expressing serious doubts about the commission’s figures.

It remains to be seen if the continental body will recognize Tshisikedi if, as planned, he is inaugurated within 10 days.

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Opposition activists are saying that even with the eyes of the world on them, the government of Joseph Kabila is trying to manipulate the result.

Diplomatic sources in the DRC say opposition candidate Martin Fayulu has beaten the government contenders Emmanuel Shadary by at least 30 points.

They base this on 40 000 observers from the Catholic Church and others from local NGOs.

Electoral Commission head Corneille Nangaa says only 47% of tally sheets have come into headquarters in Kinshasa  from the vast central African country…

….so he can’t say when the results will be announced.

President Donald Trump’s deployed troops to Gabon, one of the Congo’s nine neighbours, to protect US citizens if violence breaks out.

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Provisional results are not expected for five more days and there are fears unofficial  and possible fake claims could compromise security after what was a chaotic poll.

Ahead of voting, opposition activists expressed fears that government would leak early results showing ruling party candidate Emmanuel Shadary in the lead.

However, on early results from polling centres, he trails opposition figures Martin Fayulu and Felix Tshisekedi significantly.

The internet has been cut off in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Goma to prevent any details being posted.

The candidates will, however, find other means of informing their supporters.

The first-past-the-post winner will be announced on January 15, with the DRC’s new president scheduled to be inaugurated three days later.

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The poll which will produce the first democratic change of president in the central African giant has been marred by delays and the postponement of voting effectively disenfranchising more than 1,2 million electors in three cities.

Voting has been peaceful as more than 45-million people go to the polls.

Technical problems caused a deal of several hours in Congo’s second city Lubumbashi.

Heavy rain caused a slow start in Kinshasa.

Voting there, President Joseph Kabila answered critics that the poll might be rigged.

“Of course the elections will be free and fair. They are free and fair. My only concern is that we have this very heavy rain and probably voter turnout might be low, but hopefully the skies will clear, and the voters will turn out in numbers,” he said

There were long queues at polling stations in Goma, the eastern capital and an opposition stronghold.

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Last Thursday an Antonov cargo transporter crashed in the Capital Kinshasa killing all six people aboard.

The cheaper but less safe Antonov aircraft are popular means of moving cargo and troops around he Democratic Republic of Congo that does not have a road system to boast of.

Last Thursday’s fatal crash involved a plane coming home from flying voting material to the central city of Tshikapa.

Beni, the scene of yesterday’s crash, is ground zero for the current outbreak of EBOLA which has become the worst in Congolese medical history.

Its also an important logistical centre for government troops fighting rebels that melt into neighboring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

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They warn there will be blood if the voting does not take place on Sunday as scheduled.

The electoral commission in the DRC says it cannot deploy voting material in time for the election on Sunday.

It blames a massive fire at its warehouse in Kinshasa which is home to 15 percent of the country’s 46-million voters.

The opposition say the delay has been orchestrated by Joseph Kabila who’s two-term mandate as president expired more than two years ago.

They say if they accept a seven-day delay now, Kabila will seize on it and make it seven months.

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It’s nevertheless warning nine of the Congo’s eleven neighbours that they are at high risk of the deadly haemorrhagic disease spreading across the borders.

The four-hour teleconference expressed deep concern about  the Ebola outbreak that’s killed 139 people in the DRC.

It says response activities need to intensified with support by the international community.

Ongoing vigilance is critical, says the WHO, noting the security of first responders and health workers is a priority.

There have been eight major security events in the Ebola epicenter town of Beni in the past eight weeks, driving medical experts to work on the disease from Kinshasa more than 1600 kms away.

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He’s set fire to a pile of ivory and pangolin scales as part of his drive against poaching.

At his demonstration at NSELE Nature Park on the outskirts of the Congolese capital Kinshasa,  President Joseph Kabila also released five African grey parrots in his drive against poaching and capturing Africa’s wildlife for profit.

The Congo has Africa’s oldest game reserve.

But the 7 800 km2 Virunga national park is bang in  the middle of the Kivus which is effectively a war zone.

More than  380 Congolese game rangers have been killed doing their jobs in the past 15 years.

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