Donate NowDecember 20, 2016 was supposed to be an historic moment for the Democratic Republic of Congo. On that day, President Joseph Kabila was set to step down after ten years as the country's elected leader and more than fifteen years in power. It would have marked the first peaceful transition in Congo's history.
Instead, President Kabila has postponed elections, violently quashed protests, and jailed political opponents. The political crisis threatens to undermine two decades of work by Congolese and the international community to stabilize and democratize the country after years of dictatorship and war.
Opposition leaders warn the president has no intention of ever leaving power, and accuse him of secretly enriching himself at the expense of the Congolese people. They have, however, offered little proof. This project investigates those claims.
