Congo: ‘Katumbi will decide the election’

oise Katumbi has two of the biggest jobs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the governor of Katanga, a mineral-rich province of 5.6m people roughly the size of Spain. He is chairman of TP Mazembe, one of the best-run football clubs in sub-Saharan Africa, a role that has made him very popular. And now many expect the wealthy and charismatic 50-year-old to seek an even bigger title: president.

Once an ally of President Joseph Kabila, Mr Katumbi has lately been sounding like a man ready to unseat him. “Congo is the elephant of Africa,” he told the Financial Times in an interview last year. “Now, it’s a dead elephant. Let’s lift this elephant to go far.”