The African colonial rule is a painful history but also a way of Africans to reflect the continent’s progress. Most of the western countries have colonized much of the African states. However, what need to ask ourselves is, how much have we done for Africa after chasing the western influence. Was it a good idea to chase some western countries out of the continent after independence?
Some countries retained part of their colonizers and they seem to have made much more progress than other states which wanted their freedom. South Africa is one of the countries that retained its colonizers and coincidentally it is the most industrialized. The only sad part is that some western countries treated Africans like animals, therefore, leaving no other option but to gain independence.
Belgium brutally colonized the DRC leaving scars that affect the citizens of the county until to date. The Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence on 30th June 1960. Earlier this week, the country marked its 60 years of independence looking back at what DRC has achieved. Most people say that there has been little progress in the country because there is still political instability, poverty, autocratic regimes, and cases of impunity.
The DRC Religious Leaders’ Views Regarding Independence
The Catholic Church in the country has been criticizing the government for a long time regarding its poor rule. Cardinal Fridolin, the Archbishop of Kinshasa says:
“After 6 decades of independence, the assessment is without a doubt: we have shamefully failed. We have not been able to make Congo a more beautiful country than it was before.”
Political Mafia in the DRC-Felix Tshisekedi Views
Mafia is an international body of criminals, complex and ruthless in behavior. In politics or when describing a state, the word mafia refers to crime groups or activities in connection to the authorities. During Tshisekedi’s address, he said that the country allowed the political game to transform into the mafia.
The President also said that because of these crimes, the DRC has lost a lot of wealth in the 6 decades. The road construction progress is only 10% and the railway network is less than 25%. We see this act of Mafia encroaching towards the police. Some weeks ago in the US, a police officer killed a black American called George Floyd. This arose anti-racism demonstrations all over the globe. In connection to DRC and its colonial period, the citizens were angry and tore down the statues of King Leopold the second.
I believe they did so because it had some aspects of racism during his reign. The Africans at that time underwent too much suffering. The regime caused the lives of many Africans as many more died of diseases while working on the rubber plantations that belonged to King Leopold.
Amends Expected In The DRC
During the Belgium rule, the Belgians stole a lot of precious artifacts such as statues from the DRC. Recently, African countries are trying to return their stolen artifacts in their countries. One of those countries is Congo, whereby the people are pressurizing the President to ensure the artifacts are at home.
Lambert Mende is also one of the Congolese who are at the forefront in calling for changes and compensation in the DRC.
“People should be willing to repair the damage in terms of investment and compensation with interest. That is what we expect from our Belgian partners.”
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