The Democratic Republic of Congo observed 64 years of independence from Belgium on June 30th. But at the ceremony in 1960 was rife with caveats. Belgian monarch King Baudouin lauded his great grand uncle Leopold II’s “genius” in conceiving the independence of the Congo. It was left to new Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who was not scheduled to speak,
to set the record straight that independence was fought for at a cost of tens of millions of Congolese lives under successive brutal colonial regimes. (1)
The speech invoked the ire of western powers and if it had not been already, his card was now certainly marked as they set about planning his elimination. This was achieved six months later in what has been called “the most important assassination of the 20th century.” (2)
This laid the groundwork for these western powers to impose the blood soaked dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko’s puppet government for over three decades. Apart from its strategic importance at the centre of the continent, Congo was also a “Geological Miracle in the Heart of Afrika.” (3)
The ‘miracle’ has only grown in stature over the years making it central to the west’s ‘green revolution’ in electric vehicles and various technological devices. DRC is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of its resources, with untapped mineral reserves worth US$24 trillion as well as half of Africa’s water resources, half of Africa’s forest cover, and 80 million hectares of arable land that have the capacity to feed the entire continent. In 2018, the DRC produced 71% of the cobalt used in cell phones, computers, and electric cars across the globe. In 2022, two metals – copper and cobalt – were exported for a combined total of US$25 billion, equal to over a third of the Congo’s GDP that year. (4)
In the last thirty years we’ve seen numerous reports of “Congo Wars” comprising as much as 140 rebel groups such as M23, ADF, CODECO, mired in the intrigues of regional neighbours like Rwanda and Uganda. However, it is also important to include MONUSCO (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In the country since 1999 and at $1.1 billion it is one of the most expensive United Nations missions ever yet it is deeply unpopular and seen as having little to no impact – except for exacerbating the situation by collaborating with militia in the area. (5)
The other key factor is the multinational corporations like Apple of have been accused using ‘blood minerals’, while others like Tesla, Intel and Samsung have been accused of using materials from unvalidated mines. The cost on the people has been severe. Over six million have lost their lives, more than that number have been forced to flee their homes exploitation and abuse is rife including those those that work in the mines, a significant proportion of which are children, surrounded by environmental devastation. Meanwhile, the family networks of the DRC’s political elite, including the family of President Tshisekedi, “continue to act as compradors to multinational companies, pursuing transactional activities that favour them instead of enhancing the country’s productive capacities for modernisation.” (6)
This is the trajectory for the country, and many believe, the entire continent that would have been avoided under the leadership of Patrice Lumumba. As Frantz Fanon asserted: “the fate of all of us is at stake in the Congo.” Clearly it will take the kind of Pan-Afrikan effort that the continent was on the cusp of six decades ago to realise it in the present. (7)
(1) Special Correspondent (01/07/60) Marred. M. Lumumba’s offensive speech in King’s presence. https://www.theguardian.com/world/1960/jul/01/congo; Patrice Lumumba (30/06/60) Speech At The Ceremony Of The Proclamation Of The Congo’s Independence. https://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/lumumba/1960/06/independence.htm
(2) Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (17/01/11) Patrice Lumumba: the most important assassination of the 20th century. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary-assassination
(3) Bro. Ldr Mbandaka (2011) The Congo: Geological Miracle in the Heart of Afrika. The Whirlwind, Edition 9. p. 22
(4) Centre Culturel Andrée Blouin, the Centre for Research on the Congo-Kinshasa, Likambo Ya Mabele and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research (25/06/24) The Congolese Fight for Their Own Wealth. https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-77-the-congolese-fight-for-their-own-wealth/; Martin Plaut (23/05/07) UN troops ‘traded gold for guns.‘ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6681457.stm
(5) Ibid; Shola Lawal (21/02/24) A guide to the decades-long conflict in DR Congo. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/21/a-guide-to-the-decades-long-conflict-in-dr-congo; Martin Plaut (23/05/07) UN troops ‘traded gold for guns.‘ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6681457.stm
(6) Associated Press (25/04/24) DR Congo accuses Apple of using ‘blood minerals’ from war-torn east. https://www.newarab.com/analysis/sudan-saudi-arabia-uae-rivalry-intensifies; Centre Culturel Andrée Blouin, et al, Op. cit.
(7) Centre Culturel Andrée Blouin, et al, Op. cit.
CONGO: Is it really independent?
1) Why was Patrice Lumumba “the most important assassination of the 20th century.”?
2) How green is the ‘green revolution’ using Congo’s resources?
3) What role do the national, regional and continental leadership play in Congo’s development?
4) What is our responsibility to Congo?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of over 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.
Bro. Luwezi Kinshasa: is the Secretary General of the African Socialist International. Born in Congo, he currently lives in exile in London where he presides over the building of the African People’s Socialist Party throughout Africa and Europe. SG Luwezi’s regular column in The Burning Spear newspaper analyses current events and development on the continent of Africa from an African Internationalist perspective. He publishes a bilingual version of The Spear in French and English for distribution in Africa and Europe.
Fluent in eight languages, he has traveled, written and spoken extensively throughout the world and is well-known and respected in London especially among the large Congolese activist community there.
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