At the beginning of his first term in office in 2019, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi vowed to make his country `the Germany of Africa`.
He promised to grow the economy and create jobs for the people, in a country with massive resources but whose population was living in poverty.
In his first four years in power, he did not achieve his ambitious goal of transforming such a vast country, but now he has a second chance after he was declared the winner of a chaotic election. He is due to be sworn in for a second term on 20 January.
Mr Tshisekedi first came into power in unusual circumstances.
He was declared the surprise winner of a disputed presidential election, which some, including the influential Catholic Church, had challenged.
His main rival Martin Fayulu alleged that outgoing President Joseph Kabila had engineered a secret deal for Mr Tshisekedi to succeed him - charges that were strongly denied.
Mr Fayulu and other opposition candidates have also said the 2023 election was marred by fraud and demanded a rerun. The electoral commission has dismissed such claims as sour grapes.
Until a few years before the 2018 election, Mr Tshisekedi was largely untested in high-level DR Congo politics.
He was more known for who he was related to - he is the son of the veteran late opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi.
He however did not simply cash in on his father`s name and was immersed in politics from a very young age, and worked his way up through the party ranks.
He also had to suffer the consequences of his father`s political activism.
When Tshisekedi senior founded the Union for Democracy and Social Progress party (known by its French initials UDPS) in 1982, the family was forced into internal exile in their home town in the central Kasai province.
Étienne Tshisekedi founded the UDPS in 1982, turning it into the country`s largest opposition party
They stayed there until 1985, when Étienne Tshisekedi`s long-time rival, autocratic leader Mobutu Sese Seko, allowed the mother and children to leave.
Félix Tshisekedi then moved to the Belgian capital, Brussels. After completing his studies there he took up politics, working his way through his father`s party to become national secretary for external affairs for the UDPS.
His father`s former chief of staff, Albert Moleka, told the BBC in 2019 that Mr Tshisekedi `made powerful friends and allies among the diaspora there, but he was sometimes overlooked - and so it wasn`t easy for him`.
Mr Tshisekedi`s inauguration in 2019 inspired some hope, as it was the first peaceful transition of power in the country since independence in 1960.
At his swearing-in ceremony, he told the crowds that he wanted to `build a strong Congo, turned toward development in peace and security - a Congo for all in which everyone has a place`.
Mr Tshisekedi said he would make the fight against poverty a `great national cause`, reduce unemployment and tackle corruption.
In his first term, President Tshisekedi introduced free primary schooling, with enrolment increasing by more than five million students.
The programme has however been criticised for the overcrowding of classrooms in some areas, while teachers remain poorly paid.
The president also introduced free health services for mothers giving birth in preselected heath centres and hospitals in the capital, Kinshasa, which he has promised to extend to the rest of the country if he is re-elected.
He has pushed for a review of the country`s mining contracts with China so it can keep a larger share of its vast mineral wealth.
In a state of the nation address last month, he said the economy had improved, with the national budget having grown nearly three-fold from $6bn (£4.7bn) at the beginning of his tenure to $16bn this year.
`We have come a remarkable way since 2020,

overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic to achieve rates of economic growth that inspire confidence in the future,` he said.
In spite of the growth, many Congolese have been complaining about the depreciation of the Congolese franc which is having a serious impact on their daily lives.
Despite its vast mineral wealth and huge population, life has not improved for most people, with conflict, corruption and poor governance persisting.
In his re-election campaign, he made some of the same promises he made five years ago, such as creating more jobs, making the economy more resilient and promising to tackle the insecurity that has wracked the east of the country for three decades, leading to the deaths of millions of people.
Mr Tshisekedi`s supporters point to his investment in schools and healthcare
Much of the country`s natural resources lie in the east where violence still rages despite Mr Tshisekedi`s attempts to deal with the situation by imposing a state of siege, ceasefire deals and bringing in regional troops.
These included a force from the East African Community, which DR Congo joined last year, hoping to improve trade and political ties with its eastern neighbours.
However things have not worked out as planned and Mr Tshisekedi has ordered them to leave, saying they had been ineffective. He has said he wants to replace them with troops from a different trade bloc of which DR Congo is also a member - the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).
But there is little sign of them coming any time soon.
Mr Tshisekedi has also demanded the end of the UN peacekeeping mission in DR Congo. After more than two decades, it will take some time for the thousands of troops to leave, but it has raised fears of a security vacuum as the army is in no position to take on the numerous rebel groups which operate across eastern DR Congo on its own.
DR Congo`s membership of the EAC is complicated by the fact that Mr Tshisekedi, as well as UN experts, say fellow member Rwanda is backing one of the most active rebel groups in eastern DR Congo, the M23.
Rwanda`s government has strongly denied this but it has led to a souring of relations between Mr Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, that has defined the end of his first term.
It was not always that way. At the beginning of his term, Mr Tshisekedi initially tried to mend relations with neighbouring countries including Rwanda.
In a surprise gesture, he invited President Kagame to the funeral of his father in May 2019.
In the latter years of his presidency, however, the relationship has become so frosty that Mr Tshisekedi recently compared Mr Kagame to Germany`s World War Two dictator.
While addressing a campaign rally in Bukavu, close to the Rwandan border, Mr Tshisekedi last week said of Mr Kagame: `I promise he will end up like Adolf Hitler.`
Hitler, responsible for the deaths of millions, including six million Jewish people in the Holocaust, ended up taking his own life in a bunker in the German capital, Berlin, in 1945.
The Rwanda`s government described the Congolese president`s comments as `a loud and clear threat`.
In his final rally before the election, he even vowed to declare war on Rwanda if he was re-elected. While he was hoping to whip up nationalist sentiment, most Congolese will be hoping he does not follow through on this pledge.
They would prefer him to stick to his previous goal of creating jobs and transforming the economy, even if turning the country into the `Germany of Africa` remains a distant dream. V.5155

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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