Plus a change, . . . Chaos in the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, is aptly described as one of the most chaotic and corrupt nations in Africa. It was that way when rebel leader Laurent Kabila seized control from aging dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997, and it was that way a few weeks ago when President Kabila was shot and killed by his own bodyguards. That’s hardly surprising, given that neither man possessed the qualities needed to lead and build a nation. One may have leaned to the left, and the other, to the right, but both shared a predilection for keeping power at the point of a gun.

What’s especially tragic about recent events is the hopelessness that now seems to prevail in the DRC. How different it was when Mobutu’s regime fell. Like so many others, we shared in the optimism that marked that turbulent period. Crowds cheered Kabila’s arrival and applauded his promises to rebuild and revitalize the crumbling nation with the help of foreign investors. The obvious place to start was the nation’s mining industry, which was then operating at a fraction of its pre-independence capabilities.

Mining companies from North America and elsewhere were willing to invest in the dormant and barely functional mines and smelters through joint ventures with the state-owned mining company, which had been plundered for more than 30 years by Mobutu and his cronies. They were willing to help the nation rebuild an economy that was unable to provide its impoverished citizens with basic infrastructure, medical services or education.

Kabila and his ministers welcomed the companies and their investments, though a few of the former Marxists were unable to resist the obvious temptation of lecturing the visiting capitalists about social responsibilities. Some of them were unable to resist other obvious temptations, and it soon became apparent that many of the old ills had survived the transition of power.

The optimism soured as Kabila reverted to repression to consolidate his hold on power. He ruled by decree, outlawed opposition parties and gave plum positions to family members and friends. As his popularity plummeted, rebel groups stepped up their efforts to unseat him. Several nations, including Zimbabwe and Angola, rushed to Kabila’s aid, mostly for political and economic gain, while other countries lent their support to the rebels. Thousands died in the ensuing battles, which continue unabated despite a peace accord signed by some of the warring parties.

The chaos could continue for years to come unless various factions quit their armed struggle to control the state and its valuable mineral resources and allow some sort of political and economic stability to take hold. That isn’t likely anytime soon, given the number of countries, rebels and ethnic groups involved in the DRC’s ongoing conflict, which is aptly dubbed “Africa’s First World War.”

Laurent Kabila may be dead, but little else has changed. Joseph Kabila has taken over his father’s position with the support of his father’s allies: Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. Rwanda and Uganda (which had backed Kabila’s initial uprising that overthrew Mobutu) continue to support rebel groups that had been trying to topple Kabila’s government. And in the DRC, a myth is being created, to wit that Kabila was a fiercely nationalist leader whose “promise” had been cut short by foreign influences, including whites. Hardly an auspicious beginning for the newest chapter in the nation’s tumultuous history.

As it stands, the DRC’s status as a nation is tenuous at best. It has been reduced to little more than a carcass being picked over by vultures and carpetbaggers — a place where even the United Nations fears to tread.

The U.N. needs to do more to condemn the leaders of African nations involved in the conflict, including Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, who had provided arms to prop up Kabila while ignoring his own country’s economic collapse. The people of DRC want change, hope, peace and prosperity. They also want leaders of moral substance and character who will embrace such things, not fear them, as Kabila and Mobutu did.