Democratic Republic of Congo police fired tear gas and water cannon on Wednesday to repel hundreds of protesters whose rally against a proposed new law threatened to spill into the parliament compound in the capital Kinshasa.

We will fight to the end to protect the independence of the judicial system.

The proposal was put forward by a member of ex-president Joseph Kabila’s PPRD party, but has faced opposition from the UDPS party of President Felix Tshisekedi.

The tension and frustration felt by Tshisekedi’s party long predates the current events, said Fred Bauma from the Congo Research Group at New York University.

Tshisekedi took power last year, but his presidency has been hampered by an awkward power-sharing deal with Kabila, whose allies control a majority of ministries and seats in parliament.