The Congo wars 1996-2003 underscore the importance of scale of regional
conflicts. In many aspects, Congo crisis’s had been interpreted as the extension of the
Rwandan genocide. The chapter stresses the significance of the colonial legacy. I trace
the brutality of the Belgian colonization of Congo as a framework to grasp the ongoing
structural challenges the nation faced since independence.
Keywords: Leopold II, Spiritual Revolution, Kimbanguism, Post-colonial
independence, First Congo War 1996-1997, Second Congo War 1997-1998,
Refugees, Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire, Paul Kagame, Laurent Désiré Kabila, Joseph
Kabila, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) inefficacy, Lusaka Ceasefire
Agreement, State collapse, Democratic Republic of Congo, Resistance
movements, Regional conflict, Tutsi, Belgian Congo, Leopard secret society.
