Lipanda ya Congo
Happy Independence Day!
Yes, Monday, June 30 was Independence Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Territory - History
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has an area of 2,345,410 km² with a population of approximately 112,832,473 inhabitants in 2025 (according to Wikipedia). This is equivalent to approximately 1.30% of the world's population.
This makes it the third largest country in Africa after Algeria and just ahead of Sudan.
The DRC possesses most of the principal materials essential to the functioning of our world: gold, coltan, diamonds, cobalt, pétrole, uranium, etc.
This means that the entire world is dependent on it, which is also why there is conflict.
It is one of the richest countries in Africa but also the poorest due to the misappropriation of its natural resources.
Independence
Declared on June 30, 1960, in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), the DRC Congo was a former Belgian colony. The Congo belonged to the bloodthirsty King Leopold II, who considered it his personal property during his reign. This man, adored by some, was also known as the "hand-chopping king." Indeed, he was responsible for more than 15 million victims, which is far worse than Hitler!
The independence of Congo was affirmed by Patrice Emery Lumumba, prime minister. That been achieved following pressure from nationalist movements.
That said, we celebrate this memorable day, but have we been independent for exactly 64 years?
On June 29, 2025, US President Trump, our Prime Minister, Ms. Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, and her Rwandan counterpart, Mr. Olivier Nduhungirehe, signed a peace agreement.
An agreement in which neither party admits to being at war and, worse still, in which there is no any mention of the victims of this war that has been going on for over 30 years!
That said, and from what I understand of this agreement, Rwanda, which has no minerals on its soil, will benefit from the processing of certain raw materials and also from its profits.
This agreement is a mess, to be clear: there is NOTHING in it that benefits the DRC Congo! Is this what we call an agreement?!?!?!?
No; our President Félix Tshisekedi has just imply sold the country...
Independence is when a country is autonomous and free politically, economically, and socially.
My conclusion is that even though the Congolese people celebrate their independence all over the world, we are far and really far from being independent at the end. ..
Despite everything, happy Independence Day, ba Ndeko.
My Previous DRC Congo 🇨🇩 posts
