
Emma Grace Jarvis
Background for the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a central-southern African country that, since its inception, has experienced decades of violent conflict and government instability. The DRC, formerly known as Zaire, began as a Belgian colony in 1884 after a mandate from King Leopold II. They operated as a colony until 1960, when rioters expedited the independence process and elected Joseph Kasavubu the DRC’s first president. United Nations soldiers and Belgian forces still had a presence in the region until the new government stabilized. Still, the effort was riddled with violence and opposition from the Congo officials. Beginning in 1965, after the first coup in DRC history, military leader Joseph Mobutu seized power and ruled for the next thirty years.
During the 1990s, six countries became involved in the Second Congo War after Rwanda and Uganda backed rebels to rise up against the DRC. Zimbabwe and Namibia aligned with the DRC government to repel them from their majority in the Eastern Congo. In 1996, Tutsi rebels with other dissenters overthrew Mobutu and sparked the modern political landscape of the DRC, marred with violence and hardship–including two violent civil wars. During this time of political and economic hardship, the people of the DRC continued to face worsening living standards.
Fighting persisted until 1999, when all countries involved signed a ceasefire agreement in Lusaka, Zambia, and ended the formal conflict. The UN kept a peacekeeper presence in the region following the agreement, and as of 2001, 2.5 million were either directly or indirectly killed as a result of the war. Interim government and precarious peace took precedence for the country for the next five years, although this tenuous agreement would eventually break down.
The Past Decade
Election integrity in the DRC continues to be a great concern, and it is no more evident than in the political landscape in the last decade. Joseph Kabila, elected president in 2006 in the first free election in four decades, remained in power for more than twelve years despite facing a heightened state of opposition and rebellion. Kabila was reelected twice, and his second reelection in 2015 proved contentious when dozens of Congolese citizens were killed in protests against electoral laws that aided Kabila in remaining in power. Opposition groups developed over time, and in 2018, as Kabila was barred from power, the two most prominent parties battled for president. Felix Tshisekedi was named the winner, prompting riots in the streets from other parties who claimed the government had rigged the election. The governmental instability and ubiquitous rebel groups that currently patrol roads and regions of the DRC have led to millions of people displaced, injured, or dead.
Current State of Conflict
The continued violent expansion of fighting in the eastern part of the country concerns many watchdog groups, as rebels have taken over many of the roadways in the country itself. Without access to transportation or a stable regional government presence, the people of the Congo continue to suffer. The contested violent elections in December 2023 augmented the normalization of political violence and ignited chaos in the region. Election legitimacy issues sparked Tusi rebels and other insurgents to clash with militarized police. Protests continued into early 2024, provoking international concern for worsening conditions in the country. These flawed elections not only incite civil violence but have also set the stage for numerous coups in the past two decades, including the most recent in May of 2024.
Coup Attempt in May 2024
In May of 2024, almost four dozen Congolese opposition rebels fought and briefly infiltrated the presidential office in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. This group was led by Christian Malanga, a prominent Congolese politician formerly living in the United States, who was killed during the takeover attempt. In September, three Americans and thirty-four other individuals were arrested and sentenced to death in the DRC for this action. The Americans charged in this coup were Malanga’s son, Marcel Malanga, a Utah-born high school football player, as well as his friend and a business associate of his father. The death penalty was recently reinstated in the DRC, where terrorism is an act punishable by death. The Americans’ lawyer plans to appeal the verdict from September in a Congolese court due to inadequate interpreters during the investigation process. The U.S. State Department has been following the events closely and is waiting to see the outcome of the appeal for the American citizens on trial.
Humanitarian Concerns
The DRC has one of the highest rates of internally displaced people (IDP) in the world, reaching 7.2 million as of March 2024 and making up almost 10 percent of the Congolese population. Additionally, there are almost a million refugees due to violence that continues in the DRC, and many of them flee to neighboring countries including the Central African Republic, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Furthermore, the DRC is currently the country that suffers the most from food insecurity in the world. The United Nations has a presence in securing adequate food and shelter for the IDPs but has raised concerns for the escalating crisis since February 2024.
Where do we go from here?
The cyclical nature of the violence and political upheaval in the DRC has created an inescapable pattern for its citizens. The precarious situation continues to evolve, but the devastation of its people remains the same. 80 percent of displaced people are leaving their homes because of armed conflict in the country, an amount that is not decreasing any time soon. The DRC desperately needs humanitarian and medical aid, as well as security support from non-governmental organizations to ameliorate some of the worst effects of the widespread violence. Substantive solutions remain elusive within the political and humanitarian spectrum, although charity organizations continue their work tirelessly for the aid of the Congolese people.
Comments