The attempt to give a facelift to the sprawling city of over 17 million comes two weeks before the visit of Pope Francis to the central African nation on January 31.
Congolese authorities,however, said the campaign is not directly linked to the Pope’s visit, but rather that it was an ongoing effort to free thoroughfares, pavements and side streets where traders and hawkers have set up shop, choking the city.
George Ya Lala, Kinshasa’s city coordinator for the campaign, said that the operation will continue on after the Pope’s visit.
Catholic Church priest Victor Ntambwe said authorities could have planned the operation better, and started long before the visit.