Sixty-six years on: The promise of DRC independence remains unfulfilled

On that day, King Baudouin I formally declared the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Outside, Kinshasa’s streets filled with scenes of jubilation as long-awaited freedom was proclaimed, albeit reluctantly, by the Belgian colonial administration. “It was unintentionally that the Belgians had declared the DRC’s independence. Many people in Belgian circles believed that the country should gain its independence around the 1980s. Generally speaking, they wanted to continue exploiting our country’s natural resources,” Akramm Tumsifu, a researcher specialising in the history of the DRC in the Great Lakes region, told Al Jazeera. He says Baudouin I’s “paternalistic” speech reflected Belgium’s desire to maintain its influence over the Congo. “For 80 years, Belgium has sent the best of its sons to your land. Firstly, to liberate the Congo Basin from the odious slave trade that was decimating its populations. Then, to bring together ethnic groups that were once enemies but were now preparing to form, together, the largest independent state in Africa,” King Baudouin I told the Congolese elite. Dany Kayeye, a Congolese historian based in Goma, believes the speech reflected disdain, given the inhuman treatment endured under colonial rule. “To such an extent that Joseph Kasavubu, who was to become the first president of independent Congo, relied on the favour of the Belgians to lead the country; he had opted for a diplomatic and institutional discourse, full of moderation towards the colonists,” recalls Kayeye. “At a time when the voices of the Congolese were silenced and their hopes ignored, someone with real character was needed to stand up to the whites, who were treated as gods,” he told Al Jazeera. Lumumba’s defiance Patrice Émery Lumumba was the Congo’s first prime minister and a leading figure in the independence movement. A charismatic nationalist and founder of the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC), he became one of the most outspoken critics of Belgian rule. Lumumba argued for full sovereignty and an end to what he called colonial exploitation and racial injustice. His rhetoric and mass appeal made him central to independence in 1960 and a symbol of anti-colonial struggle across Africa. According to Kayeye, Lumumba had not been scheduled to speak at the ceremony.