Congolese president in Brussels to care for hernia
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi is currently staying in Brussels to be treated for a hernia. The Congolese presidency reported this on Twitter on Friday, a day above, based on a source from his entourage, about an open-heart surgery that Tshisekedi would have undergone in Brussels. That reporting was soon denied, but it is clear what the intention was for his stay in the Belgian capital. Tshisekedi meanwhile is doing well.
Source† BELGA
“The president is currently staying in Belgium where he is being treated for a hernia of the intervertebral disc (often abbreviated as HNP, ed.)”, the president said in a tweet on Friday, five days after his arrival in our country. “The head of state takes advantage of his annual medical check-up, and he is doing well.”
Tshisekedi plans a few more days of rest and private visits, but then travels back to Kinshasa. The tweet is accompanied by some photos of the Congolese president accompanied by doctors and a nurse.
La Libre Afrique, La Libre Belgique’s popular site for African current affairs, reported on Thursday that Tshisekedi had open heart surgery on Tuesday, based on a source in his entourage. This was soon denied by the family: it sounded there that it was a usual check-up, and that he had already left the hospital.
The Belgian royal couple, together with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and two ministers, had planned a state visit to Congo for this week. However, that was postponed for the third time, this time because of the crisis in Ukraine. There is no new date yet.