Renewed hopes for peace in Congo under young Kabila

Optimism greeted Joseph Kabila’s first foray into foreign policy last week as the young Congolese leader pledged himself to “national dialogue” - a policy his late father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, was seen as obstructing.

During a two-day visit to the United States, where he gave a speech to the UN Security Council and met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Joseph Kabila pledged to work “for a policy that advocates dialogue and reconciliation”. This followed the precepts agreed under the Lusaka peace accord, signed in August 1999 but yet to be implemented.

The young Congolese president’s assertions led to hope that the limping Lusaka peace process may yet be revived in sharp contrast to the initial fears that greeted the monarchical succession of an inexperienced 31 year-old military leader to the presidency of one of Africa’s most turbulent countries. Joseph Kabila came to power following the assassination of his father on 16 January.

Human rights groups and political analysts feared a government led by Joseph Kabila could be even more divided than under his father. Joseph’s rise to prominence came mainly from tribal favouritism under Kabila that landed relatives and friends many top government posts.
Diplomats however said he must have felt relatively confident of his support to leave the capital, Kinshasa, so soon after his father’s death.

His position remains unstable, however. He has yet to garner popular support at home, where his lack of French and Lingala, the language of Kinshasa, will remain hurdles on his way to popular legitimacy. Kabila tripped over certain French words when delivering his first address to the nation on state television on 26 February. “He was reading like a robot,” said Dr Jean-Baptiste Sondji, who was health minister under the slain president. “You could sense the strong hand of those who really hold power.”

Suspicion remains over the conditions that led Joseph Kabila to power following the assassination of his father. “Joseph Kabila is acting president of the DRC because he poses the least threat to the real players,” George Bloch from the Brussels-based think tank, International Crisis Group, told IRIN.

Joseph Kabila enjoys close ties with Angola and Zimbabwe, with whom his position as head of the armed forces brought him in direct contact, diplomatic sources told IRIN. His fluency in English could act as positive factor in the strengthening of ties with predominantly Anglophone military allies Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, while his time spent in Uganda and Rwanda may bode well for potential negotiations with the rebels, according to regional analysts.

Joseph Kabila spent most of his life in Tanzania and Uganda. He received basic military training in Rwanda in 1995 and later in Uganda in guerrilla warfare for two months.

Joseph Kabila only returned to the DRC in 1996 when his father led a Rwandan-backed rebellion in the east of the country. He appeared at the side of James Kabareebe, chief of staff of the “rebellion”. Joseph provided the link between his father and Rwanda.

Away on military training in China when his father turned against his one time Rwandan allies in mid-1997, he took over from James Kabareebe as head of the armed forces on his return.

Described as a man of few words, with a reputation for living a quiet life with his wife and family, he is in sharp contrast to his father, briefly popular for charismatic oratories and a beaming grin during his eight-month march to unseat the late Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997.