The War in the DRC Heaps Scorn on Africa’s Sovereignty

Written By: Mike Omuodo

My phone vibrating drew my attention to an incoming message – a friend had sent a message with an attachment and a note saying, “This is so sad and needs to stop!” The message was followed by crying emojis. 

The attachment was a photo of some of the carnage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – a photo of corpses of those killed in the DRC’s neverending war, piled like waste from a city garbage truck.

My heart especially bled for the children and women of DRC, the main victims of this horrendous war.

The war in the DRC, which has killed more than six million people over decades, is a stark reminder of our continent’s internal and external challenges.

Despite Africa’s rich history, cultural diversity and growing potential, the persistent violence in the DRC represents a failure by both African leadership and the international community to address a crisis that undermines the very notion of African unity, independence and self-determination.
 
PAINFUL REALITIES

The DRC, endowed with an abundance of natural resources – diamonds, gold, copper, coltan – should be one of Africa’s most prosperous countries.

Instead, it has become a battlefield where local militias, foreign corporations and regional powers exploit its riches, leaving its people in poverty and suffering.

This is a direct affront to the vision of African sovereignty, which seeks to ensure that African resources benefit Africans and not external actors or corrupt elites.

The inability of African nations to decisively intervene and resolve the conflict in the DRC highlights a painful reality: While African leaders have championed unity and cooperation through platforms like the African Union (AU), they have largely failed to protect one of their own from decades of exploitation and war.

The silence and inaction of many African governments makes a mockery of the idea of pan-Africanism, which promises solidarity and collective action in the face of injustice.

FOREIGN INTERESTS

It is also a reflection of how foreign interests continue to meddle in African affairs, undermining the continent’s sovereignty.

Since colonial times, external powers have exploited the DRC for its natural resources, leaving the country in a state of perpetual conflict.

Today, multinational corporations and foreign governments continue to benefit from the illegal extraction of the DRC’s minerals, funding armed groups and prolonging instability.

African leaders have a moral and political obligation to assert control over their own resources and territory.

Allowing foreign actors to dictate the fate of one of the continent’s richest nations not only diminishes the sovereignty of the DRC but also weakens the entire continent’s ability to defend its economic and political interests.
 
FAILED GOVERNANCE

At the heart of the DRC crisis is a failure of governance.

While external actors have played a significant role in the conflict, internal divisions, corruption and weak leadership within the DRC have exacerbated the situation.

Successive governments have struggled to maintain control over vast portions of the country, allowing warlords and militias to fill the power vacuum.

However, the broader failure lies in the inability of African leaders to come together and address these internal issues through diplomatic pressure, peace-building and robust intervention.

Instead, some regional powers have been accused of further destabilising the country by supporting rebel groups and exploiting the chaos for their own gain.

This lack of leadership not only prolongs the suffering of millions of Congolese but also erodes trust in Africa’s ability to solve its own problems.
 
STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE

This war shouldn’t be seen merely as Congo’s problem but as a moral and strategic imperative for the entire African continent.

The ongoing conflict undermines Africa’s collective goals of peace, security and economic development.

It destabilises a region critical to the future of Africa, limits economic growth and diverts attention from pressing continental issues such as poverty alleviation, infrastructure development and healthcare.

Allowing the DRC to remain in a state of war, or even degenerate further into the abyss, reflects poorly on the AU and regional organisations like the East African Community and Southern African Development Community (SADC), which have the capacity to mediate and intervene.

If African leaders do not act now to stop the violence and build sustainable peace, it will signal a failure to live up to the founding principles of these organisations and African independence itself.
 
RECLAIMING SOVEREIGNTY

This war is not just a humanitarian catastrophe, it is a direct challenge to Africa’s ability to assert control over its own destiny.

The conflict has exposed the fragility of African sovereignty and the vulnerability of the continent’s vast resources to exploitation.

To live up to the promise of a united, independent and prosperous Africa, our leaders must rise to the occasion, reclaim the DRC’s sovereignty and bring an end to this senseless war.

Inaction or passive diplomacy will only deepen the wounds and prolong the suffering.

It’s time for Africa to lead by example, assert its political will and save the DRC from becoming a permanent scar on the continent’s legacy. The war cannot be allowed to continue.
 

• Mike Omuodo is a pan-African communications expert based in Nairobi, Kenya; Mike.omuodo@mediafast.co.ke