US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA870

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000870 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, CG 
SUBJECT: RUMORS OF ARREST OF AIR FORCE COMMANDER UNTRUE 
 
REF: KINSHASA 779 
 
Classified By: Poloff Meghan Moore for Reasons 1.4 B and D 
 
1. (C) Rumors of Air Force Commander General John Numbi's 
arrest, which turned out to be unsubstantiated, circulated 
widely in Kinshasa and throughout the country on May 24. 
Polcouns met with Numbi, who was not under house arrest as 
rumored, at his home the afternoon of May 24. Numbi told 
polcouns that the May 23 arrest of Roger Muyembo in 
Lubumbashi and his subsequent transfer to Kinshasa probably 
triggered the Numbi arrest rumors. (Note: Roger Muyembo, who 
reportedly escaped during the original investigation into the 
recent Katanga "secession plot," is a relative of Jean-Claude 
Muyembo, President of Solidarite Katangaise, and head of the 
Lubumbashi Bar Association who per reftel was implicated in 
the Lubumbashi investigation. End note.)  Numbi added that 
Roger Muyembo had been brought to Kinshasa to provide key 
testimony in a public Katanga-related trial in the next few 
weeks. 
 
2. (C)  Numbi re-asserted that the President had sent him 
with National Security Advisor Samba Kaputo to help 
investigate recent events in Katanga, and showed polcouns an 
'ordre de mission' indicating he was scheduled to go to 
Bukavu to "conduct a census of the Mai Mai and ensure their 
integration" into the national military.  The General also 
told polcouns that he met with army chief General Kisempia 
and President Kabila May 23 to start to identify trusted 
military officers who will in turn identify "problem military 
elements" in preparation for possible June 30-related 
trouble. 
 
3. (C) Comment: Numbi seemed relaxed and unconcerned by the 
arrest rumors. Polcouns did not observe unusual activity in 
his neighborhood, saw no obvious surveillance, and only saw 
three young, lightly armed body guards. Numbi's "team player" 
pitch was less than convincing, and earlier reports of 
Numbi's arrest from Samba Kaputo's office suggest that the 
Presidency may indeed have seriously contemplated arresting 
the general. End comment. 
MEECE