If political elite opinion is anything to go by, free and fair elections may not happen any time soon in the Congo. Today, the government of prime minister Bruno Tshibala was announced, and it included several former opposition stalwarts who had been holding out for years against Kabila. Now, as the opposition

Jason Stearns discusses the weekly Congo happenings with Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director for Human Rights Watch. They discuss the pending formation of the new government of PM Bruno Tshibala, the ongoing repression of peaceful demonstrations, divisions within the opposition, and violence in the Kasais.

Pour peu qu’on jette un regard devant et qu’on s’interroge sur l’avenir de la République démocratique du Congo, le brouillard le plus épais est l’horizon le plus immédiat. Tout se passe en effet comme si aucune solution n’est envisageable, sauf si elle réside dans la multiplication des tragédies humaines jetant

The New Year’s Eve deal between the opposition and the government was made possible by a rare trifecta: concurrent pressure by Congolese in the streets, a relatively united political elite, and a hawkish donor community. Now, however, the New Year’s Eve deal is being unraveled by the nomination of Bruno

Plusieurs commentateurs à Kinshasa tentent encore de décrypter le message qui se dégage des deux derniers déplacements de Joseph Kabila à l’étranger. Le chef de l’Etat congolais longtemps resté recroquevillé sur lui-même, pour ne pas dire isolé, a surpris ses compatriotes en se rendant le week-end dernier en Egypte puis

Is the New Years’ Eve deal dead? In the final hours of 2016, the Catholic bishops had brokered an agreement between the Congolese opposition and President Kabila’s negotiators, forging a unity government led by the opposition and an oversight committee (the Comité nationale pour de suivi de l’accord, CNSA) also led by