CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 15 (UPI) -- The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo said what happens to opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba is up to the Congolese Senate and justice system.
"It's no longer an issue (of) what ... President Kabila is favoring," DRC President Joseph Kabila said Thursday in South Africa.
Bemba is in Portugal, where he is receiving medical treatment for an unannounced condition.
He fled to Portugal when the DRC Senate gave him permission to leave to country after his guards and Congolese troops clashed and left hundreds dead in the capital, AllAfrica.com reported Friday.
When asked if there was any prospect of Bemba returning to the country and rejoining the political system, Kabila replied: "The situation is very, very clear.
"It is now up to the Senate to agree to that demand, accept that demand or not. Otherwise the issue is as simple as it presents itself. It's not at all complicated.... (It is) an issue for the institutions," he added.
