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Body of Etienne Tshisekedi returns to Congo two years after death

Pallbearers carry the flag-draped coffin containing the body of Etienne Tshisekedi, opposition figurehead who died in Belgium two years ago, at the Ndjili international airport in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. [Reuters]

The body of Congo’s longstanding opposition figurehead and statesman Etienne Tshisekedi arrived home on Thursday to a packed and emotional welcome after a two-year wait in a Belgian morgue because of a ban on his return.

Thousands of people came to the airport in Kinshasa, the capital, to sing and chant as the coffin of the charismatic politician was wheeled through the crowds, draped in a light-blue Congolese flag.

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