Mr. Frédéric Kitenge Kikumba refuted the idea that the country has no money, pointing out that Congolese participants in the African Games have received their funds.

“Right now, as we speak, Mazembe hasn’t received a single penny. Let no one tell us that there’s no money […] while there are amounts of money being disbursed for the African Games […]”, he declared. In his outspoken manner, Frédéric Kitenge did not mince words in accusing some people close to the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Kazadi, of embezzling public Treasury funds while depriving Mazembe of its most legitimate right.

“The [Congolese] teams that accompanied Mazembe [in African competitions] got their due. Why deprive [Mazembe] of its most legitimate right? Because in the cabinet of Mr. Nicolas Kazadi, there is a committee member from V Club. So, as he is there, he can help himself! This is public Treasury money! This is the money of the Republic! Let them tell us that Mazembe is no longer part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”, he fumed.

The manager of Tout-Puissant Mazembe accuses the Minister of Finance of acting like a “circle of friends” with regards to the payment dossier for subsidies owed to clubs participating in African interclub competitions. “It’s a circle of friends, because Mr. Nicolas Kazadi is Minister of Finance, his advisor is the president of V. Club. So, the money of the Republic can circulate among them. For what reason?”, he questioned.

Frédéric Kitenge recalled the work and achievements of Mazembe, whose performances have allowed the Democratic Republic of Congo to maintain a quota of four places in the CAF interclub competitions. For him, if this injustice is due to political reasons, let the regime of Félix Tshisekedi compete with Moise Katumbi in the political realm and not on the sports field. He also remembered that when the Corbeaux qualified in Luanda, the Congolese diaspora in Angola had first and foremost displayed the Congolese flag at the stadium and not the effigy of Moise Katumbi, even less the flag of Tout-Puissant Mazembe.

For several months, the most titled club in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been complaining about the injustices of the Congolese government, which withholds the subsidies owed to this football team. Tout-Puissant Mazembe has managed to fund its African campaigns without government assistance. A demonstration of black and white supporters even took place this Wednesday, April 17, in Lubumbashi to demand that the government pay the club's subsidies.

Dido Nsapu