KINSHASA, DR Congo
Belgian King Philippe
and his wife Queen Mathilde arrived in the Democratic Republic
of Congo capital Kinshasa on Tuesday afternoon in a visit laden with historical
significance, but also meant to right some tensions in the ties between the two
countries.Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde at Ndjili International Airport in Kinshasa on June 7, 2022. COURTESY
The royal couple was welcomed
at Ndjili International Airport by President Félix Tshisekedi and First
Lady Denise Nyakeru, as well as several other top officials in
the country.
The trip matured, finally,
after several postponements. The visit is on the invitation of
the Congolese president, according to the Presidency in Kinshasa.
King Philippe's trip to the
DRC is also seen as historic. Philippe, who has been ruling Belgium
since 2013, has never visited Congo, Belgium's former colony, and perhaps the
most significant territory the European country controlled in Africa.
Philippe was born in April
1960, only two months before Belgium granted independence to the DRC, which was
called Belgian Congo at the time.
The era of colonialism by the
Belgians has been documented with brutality, including mass killings and
massive plunder of the country’s resources, as well as cultural artefacts.
Some commentators, and even
Congolese politicians, have in the past demanded a formal apology. Other
colonial masters like the UK have in the last decade expressed ‘regret’ for
brutality committed on Kenya’s freedom fighters Mau Mau, for instance,
including a compensation package.
Germans also offered a series
of social rebuilding programmes in Namibia for ill acts committed on the local
Herero people.
In spite of the dark colonial
past, however, the Belgian monarch travelled to Kinshasa try and
usher in a new era of relations between his country and the DRC, acknowledging
for the first time in history the “wounds” that his country inflicted on the
Congo under colonisation.
In June 2020, the Belgian king
had written to Félix Tshisekedi: “I would like to express my deepest regrets
for these wounds of the past, the pain of which is today revived by the
discrimination still present in our societies.”
On the occasion of his visit
to the DRC, the Belgian monarch will be expected to address the issue of
repairing the “wounds of the past”. His official programme includes a speech at
the ‘People's Palace’, seat of the Parliament, on Wednesday. On Friday,
King Philippe will deliver another speech at the University of Lubumbashi, in
the south of the DRC, before Congolese officials and students.
The monarch will end his stay
in the DRC by visiting the Institute of Tropical Agriculture, and the
Panzi General Hospital where Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege treats
women, mainly victims of sexual abuse, in Bukavu, South-Kivu (eastern
DRC).
Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Christophe
Lutundula said that Belgium has already provided 250 million
euros ($267.8 million) to support the DR Congo in various
sectors from next year to 2027.
“This amount will be used for
health, agriculture, rural development, support to institutions,
infrastructure, empowerment of women, energy production, among others,” Mr
Lutundula said on Tuesday ahead of the trip. – The East African
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