Kinshasa [Congo], October 3 : The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Mukwege has declared his bid for the presidential polls that are slated to take place in December, reported Al Jazeera.
The 68-year-old Mukwege announced his intention to run against the current President Felix Tshisekedi in the next elections.
The announcement came on Monday in front of a crowd of supporters in Kinshasa.
“I agree to be your candidate for president of the republic,” he stated, adding that he would focus on issues such as insecurity and political leadership.
Mukwege, a surgical gynaecologist who shared the Nobel Prize in 2018 with Yazidi activist Nadia Murad for their work to prevent the use of sexual abuse as a weapon of war, now aspires to address issues that the DR Congo is currently dealing with, Al Jazeera reported.
In 1999, during the height of a violent conflict, the doctor opened Panzi Hospital in eastern DRC, where he treated hundreds of rape victims and saw firsthand the illnesses and injuries they suffered. With various militia groups, notably one known as M23, vying for control of land in the nation's eastern areas, the security situation in the Central African country is now worsening, according to Al Jazeera.
During his first time in power, President Tshisekedi has struggled to control the violence. In September, he accelerated the evacuation of a United Nations peacekeeping mission due to concerns about its unpopularity and lack of efficiency.
Over the weekend, opposition leader Martin Fayulu also said that he will run for president. Fayulu finished second to Tshisekedi in the 2018 elections.
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