Ahead of Dr Congo’s inauguration of new president this week’s, tension was on Monday building in Kinshasa, the country’s capital.

Some 300 Fayulu supporters clashed there with motorbike taxi drivers whom they took for Tshisekedi supporters, leaving one driver nursing a serious head injury, an AFP correspondent said.

Several journalists were also hurt in the fracas. The Actualite news website said one of its reporters was "assaulted by police", while others were attacked by Fayulu supporters who accused them of being pro-Tshisekedi.

Although the ceremony had been due to take place on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Cach opposition coalition that backed Tshisekedi said it was likely to happen on Thursday.

Jean-Pierre Kambila, a senior figure in Kabila's outgoing cabinet, said the date would be settled later in the day.

- 'Don't encourage fraud' -

Without a firm date, officials have been unable to send out invitations to foreign heads of state and government -- and given the very public dispute over the result, it remains to be seen who will actually turn up.

The court's dismissal of Fayulu's appeal and its subsequent confirmation of Tshisekedi as president-elect has divided sub-Saharan Africa.

The 16-nation Southern African Development Community congratulated Tshisekedi, as did Kenya.

But the result won a mixed reception among the nine nations bordering DR Congo.

Burundi and Tanzania, who are working with Kinshasa to fight rebels on their common border, sent congratulations, while Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Angola remained silent.

Fayulu, who has declared himself "president-elect", has urged the international community not to formally recognise Tshisekedi.

"I urge the African presidents who asked the Congolese people to respect the Constitutional Court's decision, to respect the sovereign decision of the Congolese people who elected me president with more than 60 percent of the vote," he wrote on Twitter.

"We should not encourage fraud, lies and falsehood," he said.