There are unconfirmed reports that Congo's election winner Felix Tshisekedi struck a deal with the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, to protect him from being investigated for corruption
No one is yet sure of what will happen in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the announcement that Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi won the Presidential election held on 30th December, 2018. There have been some skirmishes with reports that at least four people, including two police officers, were killed after the announcement.
While the people of the country generally appear to have accepted the election outcome, Congo's Catholic Church has rejected the results of the Central African nation's presidential poll, saying they don't match the data collected by its observers. 62-year-old Martin Fayulu was the candidate regarded as the clear winner by church election observers.
It is hoped the Catholic Church is not going to cause mayhem by fanning flames of disaffection in the mineral-rich country.
Tshisekedi and some of his supporters
However, considering that the nation has never had a peaceful transfer of power via elections, some people are surprised at the speedy alacrity with which the current rulers allowed the Electoral Commission to announce the winner of the election.
Significantly, the incumbent president Mr Kabila, 47, has ruled Congo since the assassination in 2001 of his father, Laurent, whose victory in a 1996-97 civil war ended more than three decades of rule by the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
Tshisekedi and Kabila
The losers, especially Mr Fayulu, have been threatening fire and brimstone. They would be advised to go to the law courts rather than take the law into their own hands.
It is a shame that the stupendously mineral-rich Congo suffers from widespread corruption, continuing conflict, endemic disease, and some of the world’s highest levels of sexual violence and malnutrition. For instance, speaking about the country's wealth, Congo's minerals include those crucial to the world’s smartphones and electric cars.
It is significant to note that most countries in Africa have not done much better than the DRC despite the wealth buried under their nations. Weekly, the youths of the continent risk their lives on the Mediterranean trying to come to Europe for a better life.
This is why it is pure madness for political leaders in Africa, past and present, to live in opulence while the peoples they rule over live in abject poverty.
It is very convenient to blame all the woes of Africa on the colonialists. Make no mistake, the continent was exploited by the colonialists. However, after many African countries attained independence one expected things to change. Sadly, things have become even worse in many cases. At least, when the colonialists held sway, they made sure there were good roads and there was law and order.
If former colonial powers continue to exploit Africa, it must be with the collusion of African leaders whose penchant for greed and vanity knows no bounds. Again, one cannot unduly blame economically developed countries around the world that go all out to try to maintain the advantages they had always had over others. This is natural. It is up to the leaders of Africa to get good deals for their peoples. Sadly, these clowns, who call themselves leaders are not interested in the welfare of their countrymen and women. The only thing they are interested in is to enrich themselves. Therefore, they sell their countries for peanuts.
The list is long of African leaders whose names decorate Africa's hall of infamy. They include Muamar Gadaffi who ruled and ruined his country, Libya. He was in power for 42 years. There was Sani Abacha. He ruled Nigeria for only five years. However, that period was long enough for him to steal at least 5 billion dollars. Then you had Samuel Doe, the semi-illiterate soldier who rose to power in Liberia. He will always be remembered for saying that he would rather die than leave office. He was in the presidential palace for ten years until he met his waterloo. There was Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga. This DRC leader saw himself as a god. He was in office for 32 years. He stole at least 6 billion dollars. Idi Amin Dada ruled Uganda for eight years. He was renowned for his brutality and strange cannibalistic tendencies. Jean-Bedel Bokassa held sway in Central African Republic for 14 years and by the time he was removed from power he had destroyed the country. Ironically, these rapacious leaders and several others like them perished without taking a penny to the great beyond.
It is very sad that many of the current African leaders are taking the same route as they refuse to learn from the foolish mistakes of former leaders. It is probably why the president of Cameroon Paul Biya remains president even after ruling for 37 years.
Paul Biya of Cameroon
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