The Global Pan-African Movement held an internal education on Rwanda’s role in the imperialist destabilization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The Rwandan regime continues to receive billions of US dollars in aid while ordinary people in Rwanda and Congo remain in misery.drc

Ann Garrison spoke to Swiss Congolese historian and activist Bénédicte Kumbi Ndjoko about recent developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The announcement of a date for general elections in a country roiled in political conflict and ruled by an unpopular leader should be regarded as a positive move. But not so in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The attempt to make the public believe that the Allied Defense Forces, a small, beleaguered Ugandan Islamist militia, attacked a United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 7 December 2017, killing 15 heavily armed and highly trained Tanzanian peacekeepers and wounding 55 more, raises more questions than it answers. 

Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence hero and first Prime Minister, famously wrote to his wife Pauline from captivity in 1960, shortly before his assassination: “We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and the free and liberated peoples in every corner of the globe will ever remain at the side of the millions of Congolese who will not abandon the struggle until the day when there will be no more colonisers and no more of their mercenaries in our country.” But is anyone on the side of the Congolese now?

For over a century, Europe has been involved in the mass murder of millions of people across Africa in connivance with local elites. The only way to stop these mass murders by empire is for African people to construct for themselves a civilisation where African life is fundamentally sacrosanct. 

Having failed to prevent Patrice Lumumba from taking power in Congo, a cabal of European and American politicians and businessmen saw the maintenance of indirect white rule in Katanga as the only means of ensuring their continued profiteering from Congo’s huge mineral wealth. Perpetuating a façade of African nationalism the white lobby supported autocrat Tshombe to plot for secession.

After many years of running oil palm plantations, the world’s largest food company Unilever sold the lands it had grabbed mostly to foreign companies. The communities living next to and within Unilever’s former plantations are amongst the poorest in Africa. Now they are mobilizing to fight their grabbed land.

Mudimbe’s initial gesture of philosophical skepticism - in relation to the western imperial project - or even disapproval had been well received in the academy and largely accounts for his formidable international reputation. But his latest philosophical position might be considered to betray signs of satiety and self-contradictory reaction.

The United Nations, then under Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, and Canada played key roles in the assassination of popular Congolese Prime Minister and eminent African statesman Patrice Lumumba. To Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Lumumba was a “major threat to Western interests”. Neither the UN nor Ottawa has ever accepted responsibility.

Sustainable, effective and successful partnerships need to be built on mutual trust, on an explicit programme, clearly defined responsibilities, champion figures and financial resources. In this article, Dr. Kakonge outlines positive and negative factors that influence development assistance partnerships in Africa.

Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, faces a historic choice: Does he step down when his constitutionally limited two terms in office come to an end in December 2016, or does he succumb to the delusion of indispensability that is making the rounds in parts of Africa and try to cling to power?

On 26 November 2014 the celebrated Congolese medic received yet another international accolade. Following this prestigious recognition, Congolese intellectuals and political observers are wondering whether Dr. Mukwege should join politics. Instead, he should contribute to strengthening the Congolese civil society.

After decades of violent conflict, dictatorship, a weak state and massive foreign interference, one could give up on DR Congo. But the country is on course to restoration. It will indeed become the centre of the sun’s radiance for Africa

The special issue on the DRC seeks to expose not only the realities of war that continue to have a traumatic and tragic impact on the lives of those directly affected, but also to address the complex realities and issues that the Congolese have faced in the past since the assassination of its valiant leader, Patrice Lumumba

The Lobito Corridor between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo is a game-changer in the new scramble for Africa’s mineral riches.

The Obama administration is concerned with the prevention of mass atrocities mainly when it is in alignment with US interests. However, in the case of the deadliest conflict in the world where US allies are the aggressors, R2P is rarely if ever mentioned or invoked

The recent defeat of the M23 rebels by government forces in eastern DR Congo inspires hope that lasting peace can now be achieved in the region – although there are other rebel groups active there. Still, the expansionist ambitions of Rwanda and Uganda remain a big challenge to DRC

Young people have paid an extremely high price for the fragile state the DR Congo finds itself in, especially as large numbers of them are uneducated, unemployed and with no skills. As a result, many have become dangerous delinquents