The Legacies of Colonization & Kleptocracy

The Legacies of Colonization and Kleptocracy

The recent state of the DRC reflects the trends that have plagued the area since the introduction of the slave trade. One trend is the debate about the central government's power versus the autonomy of regional provinces. This issue existed before independence when Katangan settlers pressed colonial officials for autonomy from the other provinces.[1] After independence, a short compromise between Patrice Lumumba, an advocate for a strong central government, and Joseph Kasavubu, an advocate for regional autonomy, failed almost as soon as it was implemented. These clashing ideologies have yet to be resolved and are exacerbated by regional autonomy being synonymous with ethnic exclusivity.[2] The failure to resolve this issue has led to myriad political conflicts with no institutions to solve or contain them. Predation, both internal and external, continues to plague the DRC as local warlords and foreign interests plunder the country’s resources. This is further amplified by the fact that the commodities within the DRC are continually what the world needs. Most recently, coltan used in game consoles, cell phones, laptops, and computer chips has spiked in price on the global market, and the DRC has plenty of it. The demand for coltan allowed for the reemergence of regional conflict without a functional central state government.[3] The release of Sony’s PlayStation 2 drove the global price of coltan powder from fifty dollars a pound to almost three hundred dollars a pound.[4] This prompted former British Parliament member Oona King to remark, “Kids in the Congo are being sent down to mines to die so kids in Europe and America can kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms.”[5]

If there is consistency within the DRC, it lies in the entrenched patron-client networks ingrained into society that some outside observers label rampant corruption. The lack of government control in the East allows outside actors to access resources out of state control (Figure 8.7). Therefore, control of resources has become a military objective.[6] This has led to dozens of armed groups in the eastern DRC doing what they can to control small territories and the resources they contain to continue to fund their operations.[7] These militias and other local elites are usually connected to more extensive patronage networks based in Kinshasa, regional capitals, or neighboring countries. According to Transparency International Anti-Corruption, the DRC scored twenty out of one hundred on its corruption report card, ranking it one hundred sixty-first out of one hundred eighty countries.[8] Government revenues must be more transparent, and the economy needs more diversity. Ninety-five percent of exports come from the largely government-owned mining sector.[9] Mining accounts for a third of the DRC’s economic activity, but only nine percent is reported in government revenue, and insider trading is rampant.[10] This corruption comes at the expense of the Congolese population, seventy-three percent of whom survive on less than two U.S. dollars a day.[11]

Corruption in the DRC is primarily tied to the cultural understanding of power engrained during the colonial period. Congolese politicians are reluctant to share power, and many in positions of power know their positions can change instantly, causing those with power to hang on for all their worth.[12] Many actors see the instability in the country as favorable, creating a “criminalized context” that allows for enrichment through black market activities like drugs and arms smuggling and sales.[13] This system has made petty corruption the norm as low wages are supplemented with semi-illegal or illegal activities. The culture of corruption and holding onto power by any means necessary has facilitated neocolonialism. Foreign governments and corporations provide African despots, military leaders, and dictators with money, arms, military aid, international legitimacy, and economic and humanitarian aid. In return, those despots, military leaders, and dictators provide resources, military bases, access to intelligence, political allegiances, favorable corporate contracts and access, and human labor.[14] The need for more motivation for peace and a functional, stable government continues into the modern day. Elections are few and far between, and when they do occur, they are plagued by violence, intimidation, and corruption.

The legacies of colonization in the DRC have resulted in the prolonged suffering of the Congolese population. In the DRC, the civilians bear the brunt of the war. Dismemberment and mutilation in King Leopold II’s era continue today, carried out by militias to keep the local population at work and in line. Multiple groups of combatants have used rape, sometimes combined with mutilation, to subjugate populations, instill fear, curtail population movements, stigmatize women, and undermine family structures.[15] Child soldiers (Figure 8.4) are either kidnapped and enlisted or taken in as orphans and are utilized by multiple combatants in ongoing conflicts and skirmishes. Constant conflict has led to the displacement of over seven million people, the most significant amount of internally displaced people in Africa (Figure 8.2).[16] Most deaths occur in refugee camps where disease and malnutrition run rampant. The lack of effective governance has led to the collapse of essential services in the health sector. As recently as December 2024, one hundred and forty-three people died of an unknown disease in the Kwongo province in a rural area devoid of proper health care services.[17] The legacies of colonization in the DRC continue to haunt the Congolese population as the majority of people are oppressed by the elite few in a perpetual cycle of exploitation.