Table of Contents Title Page Dedication Acknowledgements Acronyms Introduction PART I - PREWAR Chapter - THE LEGACY OF GENOCIDE GISENYI, RWANDA, JULY 17, 1994 Chapter - AIDING AND ABETTING INERA REFUGEE CAMP, ZAIRE, OCTOBER 1994 Chapter - A COUNTRY IN RUINS KIGALI, RWANDA, JULY 1994–SEPTEMBER 1996 Chapter - SIX DAYS BUKAVU, ZAIRE, OCTOBER 8, 1996 Chapter - ONION LAYERS MUSHAKI, ZAIRE, AND KIGALI, RWANDA, OCTOBER 1993 Chapter - MZEE KIGALI, RWANDA, EARLY 1996; LUBUMBASHI, CONGO, 1960; FIZI, CONGO, 1965– 1980 PART II - THE FIRST WAR Chapter - MANY WARS IN ONE KIRINGYE, LWEBA, AND ABALA, ZAIRE, AUGUST–OCTOBER 1996 Chapter - THE DOMINOES FALL BUKAVU, ZAIRE, OCTOBER 1996 Chapter - A THOUSAND MILES THROUGH THE JUNGLE BUKAVU, ZAIRE, OCTOBER 1996 Chapter 10 - THIS IS HOW YOU FIGHT BUKAVU AND LEMERA, ZAIRE, OCTOBER 1996 Chapter 11 - A WOUNDED LEOPARD KINSHASA, ZAIRE, DECEMBER 1996 Chapter 12 - THE KING IS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE KING KINSHASA, CONGO, MAY 1997 PART III - THE SECOND WAR Chapter 13 - ONE WAR TOO MANY RUHENGERI, RWANDA, AND KINSHASA, CONGO, AUGUST 1998 Chapter 14 - THE REBEL PROFESSOR KIGALI, RWANDA, AUGUST 1998 Chapter 15 - THE REBEL START-UP GBADOLITE, CONGO, JULY 1999 Chapter 16 - CAIN AND ABEL KISANGANI, CONGO, MAY 1999 Chapter 17 - SORCERERS’ APPRENTICES EASTERN CONGO, JUNE 2000 Chapter 18 - THE ASSASSINATION OF MZEE KINSHASA, CONGO, JANUARY 17, 2001 Chapter 19 - PAYING FOR THE WAR GOMA, ZAIRE, NOVEMBER 1996 PART IV - NEITHER WAR NOR PEACE Chapter 20 - THE BEARER OF EGGS KINSHASA, CONGO, JANUARY 2001 Conclusion: The Congo, On Its Own Terms Notes Index Copyright Page For Lusungu Acknowledgments My thanks go to the many Congolese, Rwandans, Burundians, and Ugandans who helped me write this book and whose names appear in these pages They were generous enough to sit with me for many hours and explain their experiences Others I could not name so as not to get them in trouble—you know who you are, asanteni I owe a special debt to Kizito Mushizi, Raphael Wakenge, Christian Mukosa, and their families, whose warm support since I first arrived in Bukavu made me appreciate the complexities and beauty of their country I am also grateful for the help provided by Remy Ngabo, Gandy Rugemintore, Balzac Buzera, Pascal Kambale, Willy Nindorera, Noel Atama, Adelar Mivumba, James Habyarimana, Soraya Aziz, Tshivu Ntite, Thomas Ntiratimana, Mvemba Dizolele, Thomas Luhaka, and Michel Losembe in understanding the shifting sands of Congolese politics and in opening doors for me My research relied heavily on the hospitality of friends and strangers To several generations of dedicated journalists in Kinshasa, thanks for the couch, the conspiracies, and insider advice— especially the Reuters crew of Dinesh Mahtani, David Lewis and Joe Bavier, but also Franz Wild, Arnaud Zajtman, Thomas Fessy, and Michael Kavanagh James Astill and Marcos Lorenzana were important companions through the early stages of the book, and Wim Verbeken, Eddie Kariisa, and Jean-Jacques Simon provided wonderful hospitality Federico Borello, Louazna Khalouta, Matt Green, Djo Munga, and Johan Peleman were also often on hand to help me out with support and expert advice Great Lakes politics is a minefield of stereotypes and misinformation I was fortunate to have experienced scholars and researchers to help me navigate, including David and Catharine Newbury, Herbert Weiss, Peter Rosenblum, Anneke van Woudenberg, and Ida Sawyer My friends Serge Maheshe and Alison Des Forges saw me begin this project and encouraged me along, but, sadly, neither could see it finished They will be sorely missed This was my first experience of writing and publishing a book Many people helped me through the process Thanks to my parents, my wife, and my brother for so patiently reading the various drafts and providing comments Michela Wrong believed in this project from the beginning and provided moral and literary support, as did my agent, Robert Guinsler, and editor, Clive Priddle This book benefited from the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, whose generous fellowship allowed me to enjoy peace and quiet at the Bellagio Center for a month so I could make sense of my notes Acronyms ADF Allied Democratic Forces (Uganda) ADM Allied Democratic Movement (Uganda) AFDL Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo- Zaire AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CIA Central Intelligence Agency COMIEX Mixed Import-Export Company COPACO Collective of Congolese Patriots DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo FAR Rwandan Armed Forces FAZ Zairian Armed Forces FDD Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Burundi) FDLR Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda FLEC Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Angola) FNI National and Integrationist Front (Congo) FNL National Liberation Forces (Burundi) FRPI Patriotic Resistance Forces of Ituri (Congo) ICHEC Catholic Institute of Higher Commercial Studies IRC International Rescue Committee LRA Lord’s Resistance Army (Uganda) MLC Movement for the Liberation of the Congo MPR Popular Revolutionary Movement Kigali, Rwanda Kijege, Malik Kilungutwe, Congo, massacre Kimbangu, Simon Kinshasa, Zaire/DRC first Congo war: falls to L Kabila under L Kabila’s regime second Congo war: anti-Tutsi violence second Congo war: as rebellion against L Kabila second Congo war: Rwandans blocked by alliance Kinyamarura, Mariam (prophetess) Kinyarwanda language Kisangani, Zaire/DRC falls to Rwandan-led forces history Uganda–Rwanda siege ends alliance Kisase Ngandu, Andre Kitona airlift Kituku refugee camp, Zaire Kongolo (Mobutu’s son) Kongolo, Mwenze Kristof, Nicholas Lebanese diamond traders Lemera Agreement Leopold II (king of Belgium) Losembe, Michel Louis XIV (king of France) Lubakat tribe of Katanga Lubumbashi, Zaire/DRC Luhaka, Thomas Lumumba, Patrice chaos in Congo follows assassination cited as visionary death arranged by CIA, Belgium, Katangans Lunda tribe of Katanga Lundila, Neno Lundin, Alfred Lusaka Cease-fire Lwabanji, Lwasi Machiavelli Mahanya, “Mama Sifa,” Mahele, Donat Maheshe, Kizito Mai-Mai local militias attack RCD, sparking Kasika massacre as ethnic defense force of Nyakiliba as rapists supported by L Kabila, J Kabila Malkia wa Ubembe church Mamdani, Mahmood Mandela, Nelson Masasu, Anselme Massacres in Bas-Congo by J Kabila’s troops in Ituri region by MLC, Hema in Kasika by RCD rebels in Kilungutwe in Kisangani long-term effects in Mbandaka, Zaire measured against Rwandan genocide organized by Habyarimana regime reasons suggested See also Mortality rates Mawapanga, Mwana Nanga Mbayi, Babi Mbeki, Thabo Mbuji-Mayi, Zaire/DRC McKinney, Cynthia McNamara, Denis Mercenaries assembled by U.S., South Africa from Bemba aid Patassé from European countries Mobutu’s dependence on in Thirty Years’ War working for L Kabila Methodist church of Mariam Kinyamarura Michel (witness to Kilungutwe massacre) Military tactics Rwandans’ advantages trench warfare Militias ex-FAR, Hutu, attack in Zaire flee from Rwandan army of Hutu in Rwanda as genocidal local Congolese of Mai-Mai of Mobutu, as fractured, corrupt not disarmed by UN in refugee camps private, of Ngbanda/Mobutu See also Youth militias Mineral resources Congo–Zimbabwe joint ventures in Eastern Congo under J Kabila, privatized mining Kababankola mine Kamoto mine collapses in Katanga province under L Kabila Lubumbashi copper falls to Rwandans under Mobutu profits finance war RCD profiteering Western purchasers face moral issues See also Diamonds Mitterrand, Franỗois Mixed Import-Export Company (COMIEX) MLC See Movement for the Liberation of the Congo Mobutu, Bobi Ladawa Mobutu, Marie-Antoinette Mobutu Sese Seko introduced allows diamond trafficking by UNITA backing of foreign rebels provokes war balkanizes army and Habyarimana loses Zaire to L Kabila power slips pressured to reform by U.S., Belgium, France strips Hutu, Tutsi, of citizenship, property supported militarily, technically, by West war lost due to weak, corrupt, regime in failing health, leaves Zaire Moise (Banyamulenge commander) Morality inverted for killers as victims of massacres vs Rwandan genocide and obscurity of scrupulous leaders of suffering in Sudan vs Congo welfare of Congolese absent from leaders of West’s purchase of conflict minerals Mortality rates million people from 1998–2004, of civilians in Kisangani siege of Congo wars compared to other conflicts diseases correlate with conflict areas of Hutu refugees dying in Zaire/DRC of Kilungutwe massacre from Kisangani siege (1999) of massacres in refugee camps by Rwandans Mota, Emile Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) created commits atrocities while supporting Patassé provides security to Equateur in second Congo war fails rebellion to political party transition Mugabe, Robert backs L Kabila in beginning of second Congo war sets joint mining ventures with Congo finally drops L Kabila Mugunga, DRC Mukambuguje, Marcelline Mulumba, Mabi Mumengi, Didier anti-Tutsi stance on beginning of second Congo war on disintegration of Congolese army as L Kabila’s information minister Museveni, Yoweri Mushaki, Zaire Mutoto Moya battle Muyengeza Mwamba, Thambwe Nabyolwa, Prosper “Naby” attempts to command Zairian soldiers barred from positions by Mobutu retreats from Rwandan invasion on weakness of Mobutu’s army Naipaul, V S National Resistance Movement (NRM) of Uganda National Sovereign Conference National Union for the Total Independence of Angola See UNITA Ndadaye, Melchior Ndaywel, Isidore Ngabo, Remy Ngbanda, Honoré “ Terminator,” Ngbandi tribe (of Mobutu) Ngoye, Achille Nkunda, Laurent North Kivu Province, DRC AFDL in citizenship issues Hutu villagers killed RCD rebels and Rwanda civil war Tutsi community NRM See National Resistance Movement Nyakiliba (Mai-Mai leader in Kasika) Nyanga of Zaire/DRC Nyarugabo, Moise Nyerere, Julius friendship with Wamba as president of Tanzania on rule of Tutsi in Burundi Olivier, Pierre Olomide, Koffi Ondekane, Jean-Pierre Operation Sovereign Legitimacy (OSLEG) Operation Turquoise Orth, Rick Oxfam Pan-Africanism Paramilitary units of Mobutu Pastor Philippe (of Kisangani) Patassé, Ange Felix Patrice (witness to Kasika massacre) Pentecostal church Petrusic, Jugoslav “Yugo,” Pillaging by Bemba’s troops by Congolese guided by Rwandans by Interahamwe in Kinshasa by Rwandan soldiers Pogroms against Tutsi communities Politics and government (Congolese) deliberately weak institutions as elite and/or ethnic focused on staying in power as splintered, corrupt, decayed Popular Revolutionary Movement (MPR) Prophets of evangelical Christianity Pweto battle Pygmies Radio France International Radio Liberté of MLC Radio Muhabura of RPF Radio Rwanda Radio Television Libre Mille Collines Radio Voice of the People, Kinshasa Rapings estimated numbers by Interahamwe of nuns in Kasika by RCD rebels throughout Eastern Congo Rashidi Kasereka Rautenbach, Billy RCD See Congolese Rally for Democracy Red Cross in Rwanda in Zaire/DRC Refugees (Hutu) and camps attacked, massacred, by Rwandans conduct death squad raids into Rwanda join Zairians in 1,000-mile escape from Rwandans leaders steal from aid groups as RPF soldiers Umutesi’s experiences UN investigations blocked by L Kabila See also Repatriation Refugees (Tutsi) flee from Hutu pogroms in Uganda camps (1962) Repatriation (forced) Banyamulenge Hutus killed for returning to Rwanda refugees from Zaire Republic of Congo Resources, natural See Mineral resources Richardson, Bill Roberts, Les RPF See Rwandan Patriotic Front Rujugira (king of Rwanda) Rwanda military tactics, strengths seen as obstacle to peace use of donor aid withdraws troops from Congo Rwanda genocide See Genocide in Rwanda Rwanda-led invasion of Zaire background beginnings as coalition to overthrow Mobutu commanded by Kabarebe conditions of soldiers genocide against Hutu suggested implicated in L Kabila’s death reasons for massacres and statistics See also AFDL Rwandan army (second Congo war) rebels against L Kabila, led by Kabarebe advances on Kinshasa blocked by Congolese allies siege of Kisangani ends alliance targets profiteering to mineral resources wins Pweto against L Kabila Rwandan civil war Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) replaces Hutu government in Rwanda (1990–1994) authoritarianism results in defections anti-Mobutu alliance with Congolese Tutsi with Hutu soldiers infiltrates Mobutu officers invades refugee camps in Zaire Rwarakabije, Paul background commands ex-FAR, Interahamwe, militia as leader of insurgency in Rwanda on military dimension of genocide Salikashvili, John Sassou Nguesso, Denis Savimbi, Jonas Seleelwa, Wahi Sengamines Serbian mercenaries Serukiza, Benjamin background on Banyamulenge fighting in Eastern Congo on mineral mining by Rwandans on Mobutu Seven Mistakes of the Revolution (Kabila) Sexual violence See Rapings Simpson, Daniel Sindabizera, Martin Slave trade in/from the Congo Socialist/Marxist ideology in early Congo regime of L Kabila’s rebels Seven Mistakes of Revolution (L Kabila) as unattractive to Congolese of Wamba Southern African Development Community (SADC) Speke, John Hanning Stereotyping of Banyamulenge of the Congo of Hutu–Tutsi conflicts of physical appearances of Tutsi, Hutu Sudan Swarbrick, Peter Tanzania in alliance to overthrow Mobutu refugee camp in Ngara as site of Ugandan rebellion against Amin supports, withdraws support of, L Kabila Tavernier, Christian Tembele, Yangandawele Tenke Fungurume mine Terry, Fiona Tingi-Tingi, Zaire and aid-to-killers concept conditions and suffering of locals massacre Tshisekedi, Etienne under Kabila’s regime as Mobutu’s prime minister public support for reduced to marginal figure Tutsi as ethnic group as elite in North Kivu, denied citizenship flee from Hutu pogroms (1961–1962) flee to Rwanda (1995–1996) origins linked to biblical theory targeted by genocide See also Anti-Tutsi ideology; Banyamulenge (Congolese Tutsi) Tutsi–Hutu conflicts background with class-based identities ethnic polarization fails to explain violence Uganda history of discord with Rwandans and Kagame first Congo war: coalition overthrows Mobutu second Congo war: drops Kabila, backs Bemba second Congo war: battles Rwandans use of donor aid UN accusations of plundering Wamba’s new rebellion fails withdraws troops from Congo Umutesi, Beatrice in refugee camps flees across Congo on injustices UNITA United Nations evacuate Tutsi from Bukavu –French mission stalls Hutu flight investigators not allowed in DRC massacre investigations and refugee camps in Zaire report on rapings settle Rwandans into Congo (1959–1964) troops deployed in Kivus United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Multi-National Task Force United Nations peacekeeping mission United States embassy in Kinshasa stormed new relations with J Kabila and refugees in camps tells Mobutu to step down See also CIA Wamba dia Wamba, Ernest background and end of Rwandan–Uganda alliance as RCD leader, ousted from RCD as victim of own idealism forms, fails with, new Kisangani rebellion War of Liberation Winter, Philip World Bank Yav Nawej Youth militias of Banyamulenge Congolese recruits trained by AFDL Interahamwe, Impuzamugambi of L Kabila Zahidi Ngoma Zahidi Ngoma, Arthur Zaire, Republic of (1971–1997) in Cold War, West provides military aid, training increasing hostilities to Tutsi under Mobutu, falls to Kabila Zairian army of Mobutu balkanized, weakened commanders as corrupt competent officers executed by Mobutu massacre Banyamulenge with mercenaries, fails to defend Kisangani rarely receive salaries reasons for losing first Congo war sell weapons to Rwandan army terrorizes locals while fleeing Rwandans Zimbabwe backs Rwandans’ overthrow of Mobutu supports L Kabila (second Congo war) drops L Kabila (2000) Zvinavashe, Vitalis Jason K Stearns has worked on the conflict in the Congo for the past ten years, most recently as the head of a special United Nations panel investigating Congolese rebel groups He first traveled to the Congo in 2001 to work for a local human rights group in the border town of Bukavu, which was then at the epicenter of the war He later worked for the United Nations peacekeeping operation and as a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group His journalism and opinion pieces have appeared in the Economist, Africa Confidential, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times He is also a regular guest on the BBC, Radio France International, NPR, and CNN He writes the blog “Congo Siasa” and is completing a PhD at Yale University PublicAffairs is a publishing house founded in 1997 It is a tribute to the standards, values, and flair of three persons who have served as mentors to countless reporters, writers, editors, and book people of all kinds, including me I F STONE, proprietor of I F Stone’s Weekly , combined a commitment to the First Amendment with entrepreneurial zeal and reporting skill and became one of the great independent journalists in American history At the age of eighty, Izzy published The Trial of Socrates, which was a national bestseller He wrote the book after he taught himself ancient Greek BENJAMIN C BRADLEE was for nearly thirty years the charismatic editorial leader of The Washington Post It was Ben who gave the Post the range and courage to pursue such historic issues as Watergate He supported his reporters with a tenacity that made them fearless and it is no accident that so many became authors of influential, best-selling books ROBERT L BERNSTEIN, the chief executive of Random House for more than a quarter century, guided one of the nation’s premier publishing houses Bob was personally responsible for many books of political dissent and argument that challenged tyranny around the globe He is also the founder and longtime chair of Human Rights Watch, one of the most respected human rights organizations in the world For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner Morris B Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toynbee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors In 1983, Schnapper was described by The Washington Post as “a redoubtable gadfly.” His legacy will endure in the books to come Peter Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large Copyright © 2011 by Jason K Stearns Published in the United States by Public Affairs™, a member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107 PublicAffairs books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S by corporations, institutions, and other organizations For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, call (800) 810–4145, ext 5000, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com eISBN : 978-1-586-48930-4 Congo (Democratic Republic)—History—1997- Political violence—Congo (Democratic Republic) Ethnic conflict—Congo (Democratic Republic) War and society—Congo (Democratic Republic) Genocide—Congo (Democratic Republic) Massacres— Congo (Democratic Republic) I Title ... heart of the African continent, lie the highlands of Rwanda The country is tiny, the size of Massachusetts, and has one of the highest population densities in the world This is not the Africa of. .. back as the scriptural age of King David.” Speke’s theory was not a mere flight of fancy Since the Middle Ages, Europeans had studied Africa through the lens of the Bible, trying to find divine design... categorized the nations of the world as the descendents of Noah’s sons: the Semitic races of the Middle East, the Japhetic races of Europe, and the Hamitic races of Africa Turned on its head, this theory