First account of Kabila's murder

KINSHASA (DRC), JAN. 21. In the first official account of the murder of the Congo President, Laurent Kabila, the Justice Minister, Mr. Mwenze Kongolo, said on Saturday that Kabila had been talking to one of his economic advisors when the assassin came into the room. ``The guard came in and it was natural for Kabila to listen to what he had to say,'' Mr. Mwenze told a news conference in Kinshasa, explaining why the President had leaned forward as the gunman opened fire.

``One of the bullets went right behind the ear and came right behind the ribs. I think that's the one that killed him,'' Mr. Mwenze told a news conference. ``Two other bullets went in the stomach but were not fatal.''

Meanwhile, Kabila's body was brought to Kinshasa on Sunday. The slain leader's 31-year-old son, Mr. Joseph Kabila, already named as interim head of state, will be sworn in as the new President of Africa's third largest country after the funeral on Tuesday. Wailing women were among the thousands of mourners who paid tribute to Kabila in his home city of Lubumbashi, to which the body was flown on Saturday from the Zimbabwean capital, Harare.

The coffin arrived aboard a plane at Kinshasa's N'Djili airport shortly before 12.30 p.m. local time. The body is expected to lie in state in Kinshasa's People's Palace before being buried on Tuesday. Thousands of mourners lined the route from the airport, many wearing T-shirts bearing Kabila's image. Mr. Joseph Kabila had arrived earlier, dressed in a black suit, to await the arrival of his father's body. Preparations were under way for a state funeral, to be followed by the swearing-in of Mr. Joseph Kabila.

In Lubumbashi on Saturday, Kabila's white flag-draped casket was carried on a gun carriage to the regional Parliament building. Armed soldiers ran alongside the convoy of decorated military vehicles as it wound its way through the city. ``It was like everyone in town was there. The man represented their only hope. He had been the first leader from this part (of the country) since independence leader Patrice Lumumba,'' said an African diplomat who was at the scene. Western journalists were turned back after police mounted roadblocks on all roads leading to Lubumbashi.

State television has shown the younger Kabila meeting foreign diplomats during the past few days, but he has made no public comments. In one of his first acts, however, Mr. Kabila ordered the payment of salaries for civil servants and soldiers. The head of the U.N. Mission in Congo said on Saturday after meeting Mr. Kabila that he had shown willingness to work for peace.

Mr. Mwenze pledged on Saturday that the Government would resume negotiations to end the civil war after the President's funeral. ``As soon as we have finished the burial of the President, we will start negotiating again,'' he said.

- Reuters

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