The Democratic Republic of Congo’s top court has dismissed a case that sought to stop opposition leader Moïse Katumbi from participating in the presidential elections of December 2023.

Noel Tshiani and other complainants filed a case against Katumbi accusing him of not being a Congolese national since his father had Greek and Italian roots, saying that a dual nationality is against the law concerning holding positions of sovereignty or as state officers.

The law states that, a Congolese born of a Congolese father and mother may be appointed to positions of sovereignty or as state officers, including president, prime minister, in the courts and tribunals, the ministries of finance, defence and security.

The Political tension is rising in the country ahead of the December 20, 2023, elections in which President Felix Tshisekedi will be seeking a second term.

Other presidential candidates have been identified as, Martin Fayulu, former Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito and the Nobel Prize winning gynecologist, Denis Mukwege.

Preliminary information indicates that, over 20 candidates registered to run for presidency, however, the country’s electoral body is expected to publish the final list on November 18, 2023, after all aspirants have been vetted.

The Constitutional Court on Monday, October 30, 2023, dismissed the suit against Katumbi because of lack of standing evidence.

According to Katumbi’s lawyer, Herve Diakiese, there was no proof that his client held any other nationality besides Congolese.

Diakiese said that, it is the culmination of a very long struggle in the face of injustice, lies, manipulation and deception.

Tshiani also proposed a draft law which seeks to allow only citizens whose parents were both Congolese to hold high political office including the presidency.

The bill which was initially proposed in 2021 has been approved by the parliament.

Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and former governor of the copper-rich Katanga region left DRC in 2016 after he was accused of hiring mercenaries by the government of President Joseph Kabila. He was sentenced to three years in prison in absentia and stopped from returning to the country to take part in the 2018 elections. He returned to DRC in 2019 after his charges were dropped.