Armstrong, Elizabeth
The Secession of Katanga: The Remnant of the Congo’s Colonial Past and a Precedent for its
Turbulent Future
On June 30th, 1960, the Republic of the Congo, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo
as it is now known, was officially recognized as an independent nation, ending its long and often
violent colonial period. Within eleven days of its independence, the province of Katanga in the
northern part of the country seceded, with the leader of its secessionist movement, Moise
Tshombe, declaring it an autonomous state. For three years, despite the refusal of the United
Nations and other international organizations to officially recognize its sovereignty, Katanga
continued functioning as an independent state, partly because of Belgian support and military
protection. The Katangese feared that the newly decolonized Republic of the Congo would face
serious unrest between the various, disunited ethnic groups and political disorder under the
leadership of Prime Minister Lumumba, who Tshombe claimed had Communist leanings. The
reasons for its secession proved paradoxical; its secession actually contributed to the chaos and
greater distrust between ethnic groups in the new nation, causing violence to erupt in many
regions of the DRC. Moreover, its secession increased communication between Prime Minister
Lumumba and the Soviet Union in his desperation to establish stability and unity in his nation.
The historical significance of its secession cannot be overstated. The secession revealed how
unprepared the DRC was for its abrupt independence and the poor legacy Belgium left behind.
Moreover, the secession demonstrated Belgium’s strong interest in continuing to assert its
influence in its former colonial territory. As Katanga was one of the more developed areas of the
Congo region in 1960 with greater urbanization and industrialization and one of the wealthiest
areas due its abundance of mineral resources, the disruption it caused to the DRC’s
decolonization process and formation of an independent state has proved to have a resounding
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impact on its development, which for this paper, refers to the peace, political stability, and
relative prosperity of citizens in the DRC over the last half century. As evident in the Human
Development Index ranking of the DRC as the 186th country out of 187 countries in the low
human development category, which takes into account the average life expectancy, literacy
rates, and the standard of living in a country, the DRC has struggled to develop since its
independence. It is important to evaluate and understand how initial obstacles like the secession
of Katanga has contributed to this struggle.
After World War II, a nationalistic and anti-colonial culture emerged, making many
Congolese increasingly discontented with Belgian colonial rule. In the 1950s, however, Belgium
was in denial of this, believing that the Congolese also enjoyed the benefits of their economic
relationship and that they had kept the Belgian Congo well isolated so that nationalistic
movements in the areas bordering it would not infiltrate the region (Okumu 1963). The riot in
Leopoldville in January of 1959 made Belgian aware of their false conceptions. Many, such as
Minister of the Congo Auguste de Schrivjer, warned that the Belgian Congo needed four years
to successfully transition to an independent state, but the fear of a potential of war similar to
French Algeria and further rioting later in 1959 pushed the Belgians in January of 1960 to decide
that elections for the new government would be held in May of 1960 (Kent 2010). By July, the
Belgian colony would be a colony no more. The abruptness of this decision made the future
independent state even more fragile. Furthermore, Congolese political figures held conflicting
views on how the provinces should be governed post-independence. While Prime Minister
Lumumba believed in a strong centralized government that united the countries, President
Kasavubu and Tshombe thought that the different provinces should be governed separately,
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which is why Tshombe’s secessionist movement in Katanga was, in part, a protest to the election
of Lumumba as Prime Minister (Okumu 1963).
Prior to independence, many elements of the DRC’s colonial past demonstrated its illpreparedness for independence. Since King Leopold first colonized the Congo in the late
nineteenth century, the focus of the Belgians in the area has primarily been to exploit the
region’s resources for its own economic gain. King Leopold craved the Congo Free State’s, as it
was called, abundance of ivory and rubber. For Belgium, when King Leopold handed it over to
the state in 1905, it was the minerals such as copper, cobalt, and uranium that they wanted,
though they used many of the same callous tactics that Leopold had (Exenberger and Hartmann
2007). Moreover, the Belgians tended to colonize regions where the resources were most
abundant or where they could maximize trade efficiency, leaving regions like Katanga more
developed than others, sparking resentment between different groups since some were more
privileged than others (Lemarchand 1962). Moreover, millions died as a result of the Belgian’s
brutal economic tactics. The violent means that Belgium used to create its exploitive enterprise
arguably contributed to the violent culture in the DRC following independence, a culture that
resulted in the ousting and torturous death of Prime Minister Lumumba (Kent 2010). For the
Congolese, violence and coercion appeared the most effective way to manipulate the country’s
politics, as they had learned from the Belgians. In addition, Belgium’s primary focus on
economic development hurt the DRC’s efforts to develop politically and socially. The Congolese
were unaccustomed to engaging in political affairs, and in fact, only fifteen Congolese held
university degrees at the time of independence (Exenberger and Hartmann 2007). The colonial
government was closely linked to private Western industries, protecting their economic interests,
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and regions like Katanga strongly benefited from the relationship between politics and
economics more than others (Okumu 1963).
Thoughts of secession in Katanga had existed prior to independence. Because Katanga
was the second wealthiest province in the Belgian Congo, it generated a large portion of the
country’s revenues and many in the province did not care for the public expenditures in other
parts of the Belgian Congo (Lemarchand 1962). However, the riots that broke out when members
of the Congolese army protested the fact that Belgians still held key positions in the army
immediately following independence provided more ground for Katanga’s ultimate secession
(Okumu 1963). In other words, while Katanga’s secession appeared reactionary, there is
evidence that suggests its secession was premeditated. Belgian troops, at this time, were sent to
supposedly “protect” the Europeans still living in the DRC, but it became clear to Lumumba and
the international community that Belgian troops were primarily present to defend Katanga as it
moved forward in establishing itself as an independent state.
For Belgium, a strong relationship to Katanga in which Katanga relied on it for protection
meant it could continue protecting its enterprises in the region and allowed it to continue exerting
the same control that it had under colonial rule. Belgium made Katanga, as many historians have
referred to it, a “puppet state” (Okumu 1963). Belgian intervention in the domestic dispute was
an obvious violation of the resolutions passed that granted the DRC its sovereignty and that
stipulated Belgium could only intervene upon the request of the Congolese government.
Although Prime Minister Lumumba pleaded with the United Nations to intervene, the United
Nations claimed it was not within its jurisdiction to get involved. In reality, Belgium’s refusal to
remove its troops from the DRC caused a dilemma for the United Nations whose close ties to
Belgium and the west in general conflicted with its ability to properly correct the problem and
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force Belgium to withdraw from the DRC. Thus, The United Nations presence in the DRC
during this time was mainly to protect civilians who fell victim of tribalism and factionalism, not
to settle territorial disputes. This is one of the reasons that Lumumba sought the help of the
Soviet Union—other nations like the United States could not interfere without hurting their
relationship to Belgium (Kent, 2010).
As evident in the trends of the Human Development Index of the DRC, the nation has not
developed much since the end of its colonial period. The period that surrounds a nation’s
independence marks a critical period in determining the stability and future development of the
nation. Accordingly, the secession of Katanga, a strong disruption during the DRC’s transition,
has had serious implications in the Congo. First, the DRC had faced an economic crisis without
Katanga’s extensive commerce and mineral reserves. Second, in seceding, Tshombe and other
secessionists undermined the central authority of the DRC, showing how little control the new
government had over its realm. Katanga’s secession forced other regions to consider secession as
well, though they were not as successful. The controversy, in dividing the country, further
revealed ethnic tensions, helping to spark violence throughout the DRC. It also revealed how
much control Belgium still had in the DRC and how little international organizations like the UN
could do about it because of their biases. Moreover, after Mobutu Sese Seko led a coup d’etat,
the ousted Prime Minister Lumumba was sent to Katanga where he was tortured and executed.
Lumumba’s assassination in Katanga exacerbated the crisis since it ended the life of a man who
was strongly invested in the prosperity of the DRC and whose death destroyed the hopes of many
for peace (Okumu 1963). Since then, its secession has arguably helped set a precedent for the
government’s limited power and the nation’s susceptibility to economic issues, warring rebel
groups, and ethnic tensions, issues that still plague the DRC today and hinder its development.
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