On February 3, most towns and cities in Bas-Congo were shut down in strike to protest the overt fraud that occurred during the elections of Senators and Governors. The Presidential Guards, the special force under the President, fired on marchers causing 135 deaths, according to the UN (MONUC).
Many more were arrested, including Ne Muanda Nsemi, the leader of the Bundu dia Kongo, one of the main political faction in that part of the DRC.
The election of President Joseph Kabila has been accepted as a fact by most western countries,