Opinion/26 Jun 2024
By Dorcas Mbuyi
A woman was seen cleaning
her toilet made from tin outside her home.
The horror story continues as there have been minor changes
since the DRC's independence on the 30th of June 1960.
The country has been under attack for many years and there seems to be no aid
coming in. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in
Africa. The country has 250 dialect languages and Kinshasa, the capital, is the
second-largest French-speaking city in the entire world. There have been decades
of war and conflict in the DRC which has taken over 5.4 million lives. The United Nations has reported that nearly 1,000 child soldiers are recruited
yearly. The attacks are ongoing; most victims are women who are sexually abused
by these soldiers. Besides, the negative aspects of the country, the DRC is
enriched with exceptional natural resources, which include minerals such as copper, and cobalt, hydropower potential, significant arable land, boundless biodiversity,
and the second-largest rainforest in the world.
History of leadership in the DRC.
Joseph Kasavubu was the
first president of the independent Congo from 1960 to 1965. Joseph Kasavubu was
educated by missionaries in a Roman Catholic church and was born in the village
of Kuma-Dizi in the district of Mayombe of the lower Congo region. In 1942, he
achieved the rank of chief clerk which was the highest position open to
Congolese in the colonial administration in Belgian. Kasavubu became president
in 1955 of Abako which is the alliances des Ba-Kongo, the authoritative
cultural-political association of the Bakongo. In 1957 after the municipal
elections took place in Kinshasa, Kasavubu was elected as the mayor in Dendale
district. On the 25th of November, 1965, Joseph Mobutu the army
chief staff, overthrew Kasavubu and he formed a military dictatorship that
controlled the nation for close to three decades. Kasavubu later retired in
Mayombe, where he passed away on the 24th of March, 1969.
Joseph
Mobutu (Mobutu Sese Seko) was born on the 14th of October 1930 in
Likasi, Belgian Congo. He was president between 1930-1997. Mobutu’s father
passed away when he was a child, and his mother worked as a maid at a hotel. He
attended a Christian Catholic boarding school, and his mother used her earnings to
pay for his education. In 1949, he joined Force Publique, which is, the security
force of Congolese troops and later became a sergeant. He spent 7 years as a
sergeant and later left to become a newspaper reporter. As a newspaper reporter,
Mobutu was able to meet Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba and he joined the
Congolese National Movement (MNC). On the 30th of June 1960, when the DRC
gained its independence, the country was led by Joseph Kasavubu as president
and Lumumba as prime minister. Five years later, though, Mobutu led a coup
against Kasavubu. Upon taking power, Mobutu banned the majority of political
parties and took all dictatorial powers. He later formed a party called the
Popular Movement of the Revolution, and all Congolese were obligated to join.
In 1970 Mobutu held an election in which he was the only candidate and voting was
compulsory. Not surprising, but he won 99% of the votes during the elections.
In 1971, Mobutu started a program of “cultural awareness” and changed the
country’s name to the Republic of Zaire. Furthermore, he ordered all Congolese
with Christian names to change them to African ones and all Western-style
clothing or any connections to the Western world was banned. He also changed
his name to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Nbendu Wa Za Banga, he also fostered a cult
of personality where his picture appeared everywhere. He nationalized
foreign-owned firms and deported their European owners and managers. Unfortunately,
Mobutu’s actions caused the economy to cripple. Therefore, in 1977, he decided
to bring back Europeans due to economic instability. Regardless, he was able to
build his wealth and by 1984 he was estimated to have a net worth of $5
billion. Meanwhile, the country was losing wealth but somehow he indulged in
it.
The more money
the country lost, the worse the situation became. This situation resulted in a majority of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure beginning to fall apart
because of the lack of finances to maintain them. The fall of the Soviet Union
in 1989, affected Mobutu. He had always counted on the support of the Western
government. However, since the Soviet Union no longer existed, Mobutu’s claim
of being an anti-Communist stronghold in Africa was irrelevant. Due to the
pressure from Western governments and the economic crisis, Mobutu ended the ban on
political parties and introduced opposition figures into the governance.
Unfortunately, Mobutu’s health began to worsen, in 1996 Tutsi rebels took
benefit of his absence by taking control of the western side of the
country. Some of the rebellions took place in eastern Zaire, in 1997 combined
forces defeated Mobutu’s army and took over Kinshasa. On the 7th of
September, Mobutu died of prostate cancer.
Laurent Kabila, former president of the DRC from 1939 to 2001. He
was born on the 27th of November 1939, in Luba tribe Katanga province
in Belgian Congo. Kabila in 1960 became the leader of a youth wing of an alliance
with former independence prime minister, Patrice Lumumba. In 1963, Kabila
created the People’s Revolutionary Party and complied with Lumumba’s old
supporters who wanted to rebel. Furthermore, in an attempt to revolt against
Mobutu, Kabila joined forces with a well-known communist revolutionary leader,
Ernest Guevara. However, according to Guevara, Kabila wasn’t involved in the
organization as he should. Kabila began smuggling gold and timber in a lake in
Tanganyika. He spent 20 years in exile, in Tanzania, fighting with the corrupt
Mobutu regime. In the mid-1990s, Kabila returned to Zaire and became a leader and
spokesman of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for Liberation of Congo. As the
numbers of the Liberation grew, Kabila led Tutsis against Hutu forces which
caused the first Congo War in October 1996. These forces completely overtook
the country. Therefore, on the 16th May 1997 Mobutu fled to exile
and Kabila announced himself as president, the next day. During his time of
presidency, Kabila suspended the constitution and changed the country’s name
to the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1998, former allies who aided him to
power created an open rebellion against him and was supported by Uganda and
Rwanda. On the 16th of January 2001, Kabila was shot by his
bodyguard at his palace. On the 26th of January, his son, Joseph Kabila
was sown in as president.
Joseph Kabila was born on the 4th of June 1971 and was
president between 2001-2019. Kabila, son of former deceased president Laurent
Kabila, was raised in Tanzania. He fought as a rebel force that aided his
father's deposing of former president Mobutu Sese Seko. As Kabila was sown in, he
made his first trip abroad. He met with government leaders in France and Belgium,
also traveled to the United Nations and he met Paul Kagame (president of Rwanda).
In July 1999, a cease-fire agreement was signed. The government officials of five
countries, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Namibia, and Angola that sent troops to
Congo agreed to withdraw. Kabila decided in May to overturn the cabinet that was
held over from the administration of his father and introduced his own
ministers. In December an agreement was signed to end war with the rebels.
Besides Kabila’s attempt to bring peace, in 2004 there was a supposed coup
against him, but the attempt went to waste as his loyalists overcame it.
Moreover, in 2006 the first multiparty elections took place, and a new
constitution was enforced. Unfortunately, there was a failure to secure most
of the votes but he managed to overtake his opponent (Jean-Paul Bemba). Kabila
in 2008 signed a peace agreement with more than 20 rebels but later backfired
as the rebels continued attacking. Re-elections took place in 2011, and Kabila’s
opposition was Etienne Tshisekedi. Most Congolese were not pleased with Kabila’s
inability to keep his promises. The elections were done in a violent
atmosphere because of the disputes with each political party. Regardless, the
elections were held and happened to have won 49% of the votes and Tshisekedi
came in second with 32% votes. After the results came out it was noted by
international monitoring that the voting procedure had irregularities, but the
results were considered by the Supreme Court that Kabila won the votes and was
inaugurated on the 20th December 2011.
Kabila was met
with many challenges in his new term. There was postelection and ongoing
violence from previously that carried into the next year. The pressure began
mounting as the international community and opposition party promoted, and improved
areas of human rights also democracy. Moreover, suspicions began piling and
Kabila became the target of protest because he would not step down at the end
of the term. The elections were delayed, and Kabila remained until another successor
could be elected. Later the electoral commissions postponed the 2016 elections.
However, the presidential elections were rescheduled for the 23rd of December 2018. Surprisingly, a sudden fire appeared and demolished a large
amount of voting materials. Unfortunately, the elections were postponed (sounds
familiar) to the 30th of December. The results were announced about a
week and a half later, Felix Tshisekedi son of Etienne Tshisekedi was declared
the winner. However, there was data leaked that showed that Martin Fayulu was
in the lead. Tshisekedi and Kabila were accused of exchanging power to secure the former’s election victory in exchange for protecting the interest of
associations. Fayulu tried challenging the results in court but it failed.
Consequently, Kabila stepped down as president on the 24th of
January 2019.
Felix Tshisekedi, the current president of the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). Born on the 13th June 1963 in Kinshasa, son to Etienne
Tshisekedi, previously the prime minister of Zaire. Tshisekedi became the fifth
president. In 2021, Tshisekedi signed a decree that pardoned approximately 700
political prisoners, that were imprisoned by DRC former president Joseph
Kabila. He kept a promise he made during his campaign while running for
president.
The future of
the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The country is clearly under attack and being
exploited daily. My question is, will the country survive for another two
years? As a Congolese and a journalist, I have seen and witnessed a lot of
havoc and my country is in need of aid. As a country, we have plenty of
resources yet the people continue to suffer. How do we fight or protest against
the mass murders happening in the Congo? It has been years and the only thing
that has changed is the increase in the number of deaths. Moreover, Congolese
people have found comfort in leaving their country due to the instability and
violence.
The second
largest country in Africa yet one of the poorest. Can we talk about the
issues surrounding the hygiene and toilets being outside? I know that sounds a
bit weird because there are bigger issues to deal with. However, the country
has a large record of Ebola and most children suffer from kwashiorkor. How can a
country that has an estimated $24 trillion not have the ability to provide
proper hygiene in hospitals and clean toilets? Most African countries have developed
a Western culture, due to the colonization that took place. Did you know that
most people avoid going to the hospital because they come out either dead or
worse than before? My cry is for the women who are victims of gender-based
violence and are unable to report the crime. This is alarming and disturbing to
see, that most people are unable to live as they should. The country happens
to have human rights but the rights of most individuals are not considered by
the government.
My hope for the
DRC is that the leadership and presidency changes. It seems like the rich are
getting richer and the poor are left with nothing. Furthermore, when a country
has a population that is living in poverty, there will consequently be chaos.
What do I mean by chaos? Well, I haven’t been back home in years because of the
fear of being bewitched. Here’s the thing, sometimes Africans have a sad
mentality. We tend to want what other people have and with that comes an evil
heart. Imagine, going home (Congo) and accidentally stepping on water, after stepping
on it you find yourself with a swollen foot. This, my friends we call kindoki, I
have heard of so many people going back home and suddenly dying from minor
headaches. Poverty has caused division and anger. For a person to willingly
assume the position of wishing death on someone for having more than they do,
shows the critical state of the country.
Let’s talk about
colonization and the effects it has had on the country. The current president
of Congo spends most of his time flying out to other countries instead of
getting his country in order. All the flights and hotels are booked yet the people
are barely surviving. President Tshisekedi has signed agreements to try and
bring peace but it’s on paper, there is no action to show for it. The same
countries that are supposed to ‘help’ us are exploiting and stealing our
minerals and resources. President Joe Biden has probably seen President
Tshisekedi more than the Congolese people themselves. We need our country back;
Congo has the ability to feed the entire world. The world cannot survive
without the DRC; we have everything that is needed to survive. One thing that I
know is that you cannot attack an empty vessel. Meaning, that our country clearly
must have significance if we are oppressed in this manner and to this
extent.
My question
still stands, will the DRC still exist by 2025? Well, here’s my understanding,
if the mass murders, violence, and lack of accountability continue we may find
ourselves slowly disappearing into thin air. We might wake up and find the
entire country gone… as a Congolese, my desire is to see change in my country.
I am willing to fight to see change and for the youth to take up space in
leadership positions. We can hide or leave but the horror continues as innocent
lives are taken constantly. If you’re reading this… especially if you’re
Congolese, you should choose to make a difference. May Congo rise and see brighter
days.
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