Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi speaks in the capital Kinshasa.
Jacques Witt/AFP via Getty Images
Plenty remains to be done to improve the lives of Congolese citizens.
A soldier guards a camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2023.
Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images
Central to the DRC’s politics is a broken relationship between the seat of government in Kinshasa and underrepresented groups in the eastern region.
Banyamulenge community members at the funeral of one of their own in eastern DRC.
Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images
The Banyamulenge have been viewed as strangers in their own country – the violence targeting them revolves around this misconception.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi waves an official copy of the nation’s Constitution during his swearing in on January 24, 2019.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images
The admission of DRC will extend the East African Community bloc’s reach to the Atlantic Ocean.
President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed a Kabila ally to the powerful post of prime minister.
Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/EPA/EFE
Felix Tshisekedi must come out from under former premier Joseph Kabila’s thumb.
DR Congo presidential candidate Martin Fayulu who has challenged Felix Tshisekedi’s win in the December 2018 poll.
EPA/EFE/Stefan Kleinowitz
The DRC’s Constitutional Court has upheld Felix Tshisekedi’s presidential election win.
Supporters of DRC opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi, celebrate his presidential election win.
EPA-EFE/Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
Felix Tshisekedi may have clinched DRC’s presidency but the road ahead won’t be a smooth one.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has never had a peaceful transition of power.
STEFAN KLEINOWITZ/EPA/AAP
The US has sent troops to countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo in anticipation of violence and unrest once the election results are announced.
Voters during the DRC’s last elections in Kinshasa.
Dai Kurokawa/EPA
It’s been an eventful year for the Democratic Republic of Congo as the country prepares for elections.
Congolese women march to government offices in the Bunia, Eastern DRC to mark International Women’s Day.
Stephen Morrison/EPA
Women in the DRC are much more than victims of violence and coming together to effect change.
Anti-Joseph Kabila protesters left five people dead and scores injured in Kinshasa.
Robert Carrubba/EPA-EFE
Emmanuel Shadary is President Joseph Kabila’s preferred presidential candidate meaning that Kabila could remain in power if not in office.
Jean-Pierre Bemba wants to be president of the DRC.
Herwig Vergult/EPA
Jean-Pierre Bemba is a man with a past. Once accused of crimes against humanity, he is now making a play for the DRC’s presidency.
Citizens protest on the streets of Kinshasa in the DRC.
Robert Carrubba/EPA-EFE
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been in turmoil since President Kabila refused to relinquish power at the end of his term. But there is hope of ending the stalemate.
Protesters demand Congolese President Joseph Kabila step down.
Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
Too often developments in one country are seen in isolation. In southern Africa events in one affect others in the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to French counter-terrorism forces in northern Mali, in May.
EPA/Christophe Petit Tesson
Some African countries present a facade of democracy. The absence of substantive democracy is contributing to instability on the continent.
An elderly woman displays her inked finger after casting her vote during the 2016 presidential elections in Uganda.
Reuters/James Akena
The outcome of the race between increasingly artful electoral manipulation and limitless possible manifestations of democratic expression is never entirely certain.
The DRC says presidential elections would probably not happen this year as President Joseph Kabila holds on to power.
Nic Bothma/EPA
President Joseph Kabila remains in office despite upheaval in the DRC. He can still save face and a change of heart could see him become the first Congolese president to relinquish power.