Before dawn, sanitary police armed with crowbars and a bulldozer set about demolishing makeshift trader stalls crowding downtown streets in the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of a four-day visit by Pope Francis starting January 31.
A KinBopete team member tears down a pirate market shop as part of a campaign to clean up the Congolese capital ahead of Pope Francis' visit, scheduled for late January in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 13, 2023.Before dawn, sanitary police armed with crowbars and a bulldozer set about demolishing makeshift trader stalls crowding downtown streets in the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of a four-day visit by Pope Francis starting January 31.
“The cleanup we are doing just now is not only because the Pope is coming,” George Ya Lala, Kinshasa city coordinator for the campaign said, adding the operation would continue even after the Pope went home. It said the Vatican had only requested that preparations for Francis's visit be done “in the most sober way. We obviously want the reception sites to be able to accommodate the greatest number of faithful in a secure way and for roads to be secure.”
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