By Oumar Fofana

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, where the famous rumble in the jungle boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman took place is one of the richest countries in the World in terms of natural mineral resources; ranging from some of the most important reserves of cobalt, coltan, gold and diamonds. Despite this wealth the people have been faced with years of suffering, conflicts, displacement, and regional instability. With the worsening crisis in the eastern DRC, it is time to have a rethink not how we respond to the violence but where we govern from.

The current capital city of Kinshasa lies in the far west of this vast country, over 1,500km away from the embattled provinces of Ituri, North, and South Kivu. This geographical distance and disconnect between the seat of political power and the heart of the country’s mineral rich provinces and suffering is not just a coincidence but it is a structural weakness at the very heart of Congo’s crisis. 

History of a Divided State

Instability and conflicts are not new in the DRC, starting from the brutal colonialism by the Belgians through King Leopold who committed one of the most heinous crimes against humanity to the Mobutu regime and the catastrophic wars of the late 1990s and 2000s.  Congo’s history has been marred by systemic neglect and external exploitation. At the heart of each of these crises has been a failure to govern equitably across the country’s enormous and diverse landscape.

“Africa’s World War” as the Second Congo War is often referred to because it involved nine African countries’ direct involvement and ongoing violence by armed groups like the M23 and ADF, concentrated in the mineral rich east of the country. Even with huge international peacekeeping missions and sporadic government military operations, this region has remained volatile. Millions of civilians have been displaced and the state’s presence is either weak or nonexistent even though the resources continue to be exploited.

The Problem: A Capital Too Far

Even though Kinshasa continues to thrive as an economic and political hub, eastern DRC remains in a state of permanent emergency, not only due to conflict or corruption but also geography. The capital is simply too far from the crisis.

In most smaller countries, a war this severe on home soil would dominate the national agenda and troop deployments would be prioritized, infrastructure investment would increase but, in the DRC, the distance between Kinshasa and Goma means that the eastern provinces often feel and function like distance countries or forgotten frontier at best. The attention, urgency, and commitment of resources that would typically be used to defend a capital city is absent in the east of DRC and as a result the cycle of violence continues.                                                              

A Radical Solution: Move the Capital

It is about time to consider a bold move such as relocating the DRC’s capital to a more central location of the country, possibly in the Kasai or Sankuru regions.

Having a centrally located capital would bring the seat of government closer to both the crisis and the country’s mineral rich heart.  This proximity could force the political elites to engage directly with the challenges of eastern Congo and address the root causes, thereby fostering accountability, swifter military response, and more inclusive development.

Countries in Africa have made similar moves with significant success. Nigeria relocated its capital city from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in order to foster national unity and have a centralized governance. Tanzania’s capital city moved from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma in order to promote equitable regional development. Hence, the DRC could follow in a similar path not just to decentralize power but to reorient the very center of national consciousness.

Development Through Proximity

Having a central capital city would likely lead to increased infrastructure such as better roads, schools, hospitals, and communication networks in the country’s interior. It would also allow the central government to have a stronger presence in the east, which would facilitate quicker responses to security threats and more effective control over mineral extraction and trade. 

Bringing the government closer to the conflict zone would send a powerful message that all parts of DRC matters equally and the government will no longer turn its back on the eastern DRC.

Conclusion

The DRC is at a critical juncture right now. Conflict in the eastern part is not just a security policy failure but rather a failure of national design. Moving the capital city to a more central location will make the government begin bridging the dangerous gap between power and pain, wealth  and poverty, and the west-east divide. It is about time to bring the DRC’s leadership closer to the center and to the people who suffer most. 

Oumar Fofana is a free-lance writer for International Affairs Forum.