The death has occurred of veteran opposition leader in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Etienne Tshisekedi, whose supporters have gathered in the capital, Kinshasa, to express their shock at his exit.

According to Ceoafrica, 84 year old Etienne, who was a prominent opponent of successive leaders, and due to head a transitional council under a deal for President Joseph Kabila to step down, died in Belgium where he went last week for medical checks.

It was gathered that Mr Tshisekedi returned to Kinshasa last July to a hero's welcome after two years in Brussels for medical treatment; which journalists say his death comes at a sensitive time for DRC where fierce clashes occurred last year when it was announced that President Kabila would stay in power until April 2018.

The death of Etienne Tshisekedi, nicknamed the “”Sphinx of Limete” might jeopardise the transitional deal and has left the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party without its emblematic leader.

In 2014, he left Kinshasa for Brussels to receive treatment and back home it was his son, Felix, who gradually took over the reins of the party and emerged as a natural successor to his father. Not only does he resemble his father but he seems to have the same determination and charisma.

He has become such an important opposition personality that the Rassemblement coalition of opposition parties, which has signed the power-sharing deal with the government, has designated him as the potential next prime minister.

Witnesses say as word of his death spread in Kinshasa on Wednesday evening, clashes broke out between a small group of his supporters and police, who fired teargas.

Mourners who gathered at his son's house in Kinshasa said they were concerned about the future.

"This man sacrificed his life, his youth for us all. This man made us open our eyes. He was our icon. This man was an icon for Africa. He was great. We lost a great man," one woman told journalists.

Another said his supporters saw him as incorruptible: "He was an historic opponent. Nelson Mandela was the best and Tshisekedi comes after".