Congo president marries longtime sweetheart

Congo's president married his longtime sweetheart Friday in a civil ceremony attended by top government officials in the capital.

Photo: Congo president marries longtime sweetheart

Joseph Kabila, 35, married Olive Liemba Disita, 26, at the presidential palace in Kinshasa. Images of the ceremony were broadcast on state television Friday night showing Kabila dressed in blue and his veiled bride walking past a military honor guard.

Kabila and Disita have lived together for years and have a 6-year-old son. Disita is Congolese and the daughter of a civil servant.

Kabila is one of 33 candidates expected to run in July elections, the country's first democratic vote in four decades.

The mineral-rich nation is struggling to emerge from years of war that ended in 2002 with the creation of a transitional government the following year.

Kabila inherited the presidency from his father, Laurent Kabila, who was assassinated by a disgruntled bodyguard in 2001, reports AP.

O.Ch.