Democratic Republic of Congo national television has announced the appointment of Judith Sominoa Toluka as prime minister, the first for a woman to hold the post in the country.
Toluca, 50, succeeds Jean-Michel Sama, who resigned as prime minister on Feb. 21.
Toluca, who holds a master’s degree in economics, is looking forward to realizing the projects President Tshisekedi plans to implement during his second term.
The appointment comes more than three months after the December 20 elections.
President Felix Tshisekedi, the son of the late dissident Etienne Tshisekedi, pledged to improve the living conditions of the Congolese people and end 25 years of armed conflict in the eastern region.
Despite his promises, Tshisekedi was unable to achieve all his goals, and he campaigned on what he achieved in his first term, such as providing free primary education.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been facing the challenges of armed conflict in North Kivu since the end of 2021, with the M23 movement, backed by Rwanda, fighting the Congolese army backed by armed groups.
Presidential, parliamentary, regional, and local elections on December 20 were held simultaneously and required several days to complete due to logistical challenges, with Tshisekedi winning a landslide victory with more than 73 percent of the vote and beating about 20 candidates in a single-round election.
Paul Kagame sworn in for fourth term as Rwandan president