Eye on Africa

*** Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Kabila supporters celebrate victory in Kinshasa

When Antoine Gizenga, 81, announced last spring he would run for President, few analysts took him seriously. He is old, says nothing, and has not held a public office in four decades. But it appears that Gizenga is not yet finished.

His Parti Lumumbiste Unifié helped Kabila win the election and Gizenga is expected to be appointed Prime Minister. But the appointment to the premiership has been delayed. Instead, on December 19 President Joseph Kabila appointed Gizenga informant. In a parliamentary system, a president appoints an informant to consult other parties in order to form the government when no party wins a clear majority in the parliament.

In 1960, Patrice Lumumba was appointed informant because, in spite of his party’s success at the polls, he did not have a clear majority. Therefore, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu asked Lumumba to negotiate with the other parties and report to him with a proposed government.

The situation is different today. Congo does not have a parliamentary system. And with 300 of the 500 seats in the parliament, Kabila’s Alliance pour la Majorité Presidentielle has a clear majority. This mean President Kabila could have appointed Gizenga Prime Minister right away, skipping the informant phase.

*** Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Pirogues near Bamanya, Equateur

Remember Adam Hochschild? He is the fellow who wrote King Leopold’s Ghost. If you have not yet read that book, then you must. He writes well — and has a Pulitzer Prize to show for it. In his commentary, A Congo Lesson for Bush, which appeared in the Los Angeles Times on December 22, he admonishes President George Bush to look at Congo’s history and draw a lesson concerning Iraq. In his own words:

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT:

Your interview in the Washington Post made headlines across the country Wednesday because you continued to talk about "victory" in Iraq — a hint that you may increase the number of American troops there.

But it caught my eye for a different reason. In it (after expressing some "befuddlement" at the suggestion that you do not read books), you explained that the most recent book you read was "King Leopold’s Ghost," about the plundering of Congo a century ago. This pleased me because I wrote that book.

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele. Coltan miners, South Kivu

In an opinion piece published in The Boston Globe on Deember 22, author John le Carré and International Crisis Group’s analyst Jason Stearns wrote:

"The World Bank sees the mining sector as the driving force behind Congo’s economy. It has helped publish a new mining code, has commissioned several audits of the largest state mining company, and has given $45 million to retire 10,000 state mining workers. The theory is that Congo needs to privatize its stagnant state mining companies in order to revive the industry. Once the mines are up to speed again, the state should be able to make ample revenue through taxing exports and profits.

***Photo Congo Pax

In his December 6 inauguration speech, President Joseph Kabila promised to initiate a deep change of mentality, based on good governance, democracy and the respect of human rights. That promise, however, sounded hollow to most Congolese. 

On November 21, three weeks before the inauguration, a special unit of the police arrested Marie-Thérèse Nlandu Mpolo Nene, 53, a prominent and respected lawyer, former presidential candidate, and a member of Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Union pour la Nation. She is married and has four children. Her family says her health has deteriorated in detention.

Amnesty International has adopted her as a prisoner of conscience and several human rights groups have taken up her case. Yet, to date, the case has generated little interest in international media. Neither the BBC nor Reuters or any other major foreign news correspondent in Kinshasa has written on Nlandu’s detention.

The police has charged Nlandu, along with six other detainees, with “terrorism and possession of firearms” for the burning of the Supreme Court building on November 20. The circumstance of the court fire remains murky at best. It is not clear who set the building on fire – and for what purpose. Policemen fled the scene when a riot broke out. Neither United Nations nor European Forces intervened on time. Foreign media were quick to blame Bemba’s supporters for the fire. No one has substantiated that claim.

*** Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele

– Rwandan President Paul Kagame (right) and Nigerien President Tandja Mamadou, Abuja, Nigeria

On a recent trip to London, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame spoke with BBC’s Stephen Sackur on HARDtalk. Kagame vehemently rejected the report by France’s Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere who has accused him of the political assassination which triggered the genocide. He went on the defensive and accused France of actively participating in the genocide. He also spoke of Congo, Nkunda and Mutebisi.

Watch HARDtalk.

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — Ruki River, Equateur

On December 6, Congo installed the winner of its first multi-party presidential election in 40 years: Joseph Kabila is now the leader of the war-torn country.

Mvemba Dizolele describes the Congolese response to their historic elections as ‘giddy’. Mvemba is an American citizen who was born and raised in Congo. He talks with Public Radio’s Dick Gordon about his detention as a young man by the dictator who had employed his father, why he became an American…and what it was like to encounter a pygmy taller than he is. Listen to the full program on Public Radio

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele - Kinshasa

As the Belgians say, "L’ union fait la force." Gizenga, Kabila, Mobutu

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele - Mbandaka, Equateur

This I promise you…

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele - Kinshasa

Of the presidential campaign billboards I saw in Kinshasa, one still stands out in my mind. It said, “Kabila Le Rassembleur.” The “unifier.” Hubris is a key element of good campaign politics. Every time I saw that ad, I smiled and wondered whether the president’s team really meant it. Candidates tend to exaggerate their potential and downplay their limitations.

Kabila may honestly believe he is the rassembleur. But his record over the last five years does not fully support that claim. He has been as much a unifier as he has been a divider. Now that he has won the election, and as he starts a new term as the country’s first democratically elected president in over 40 years, Kabila has another chance to become a real unifier of Congo. The world is watching to see whether he will rise to the occasion.

On November 30, Kabila surprised his fellow Congolese when he paid Bemba, his main challenger, a courtesy visit at his private residence in Kinshasa. The visit was a good start. The symbolism behind it reassured the Congolese they could remain hopeful about the future.  

***Photo Mvemba Phezo Dizolele - Kinshasa

Joseph Kanambe Kabange Kabila — Le Gagnant