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Democratic Republic of Congo’s new President Felix Tshisekedi was briefly taken ill during his inaugural address on Thursday but returned to the stage to complete his remarks.
Tshisekedi said he was exhausted by the long election process and the emotion of the occasion.
His spokesman later told Reuters that his bulletproof vest had been too tight and he had since removed it.
He was sworn in on Thursday as Democratic Republic of Congo‘s president, succeeding Joseph Kabila in the vast central African country’s first transfer of power through an election in 59 years of independence.
Tshisekedi’s victory in the Dec. 30 election was marred by accusations he struck a backroom deal with the outgoing president to deny victory to another opposition candidate. Kabila and Tshisekedi’s camps reject those allegations.
Tshisekedi, wearing a blue suit and dark glasses, took the oath of office before a crowd of thousands of cheering supporters, government officials and foreign ambassadors.
More on this: Félix Tshisekedi sworn in as DR Congo President
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