The Congo That Could Have Been

June 30, 2010 was the 50th anniversary of the DRC's independence from Belgium.

But half-a-century on, the DRC is in crisis. During 6 years, between 1998 and 2003, it was home to the world's deadliest conflict since World War Two ... a conflict that killed more than five million people. In the eastern part of the country, the fighting continues to this day. And though the Congo is rich in diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt and zinc, it's still home to some of the poorest people in the world. Needless to say, this isn't how it was supposed to be.

We aired a clip of Patrice Lumumba through translation. He was a key figure in the Congo's fight for independence and the country's first democratically elected Prime Minister.

Patrice Lumumba united a divided country by tapping into a sense of Congolese nationalism. But speeches such as that one also earned him some powerful enemies. And just six months after he was elected Prime Minister -- in January of 1961 -- Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by Belgian officials and with the complicity of the CIA.

To this day, many Congolese recall Patrice Lumumba fondly. And some believe he could have changed their country's destiny.

DRC's 50th Independence Anniversary - Ntanda Nkere

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of seventeen African countries marking the 50th anniversary of its independence this year. And over the summer, we're going to look at how those countries have changed since then and whether the hopes and dreams associated with the fight for independence have been fulfilled.

This morning, we wanted to look at what could have been for the Democratic Republic of Congo. And we began with Ntanda Nkere. He's a historian and political scientist at the University of Kinshasa.

DRC's 50th Independence Anniversary -  François Lumumba

François Lumumba is Patrice Lumumba's eldest son. He was ten years old when his father was assassinated. Over the years, he's spent a lot of time thinking about his father's legacy. He was in Kinshasa, along with translator Thomas Hubert.
 

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