King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have embarked on their historic first official visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the country’s former colonies.
The visit had to be postponed twice; supposed to take place in 2020 to celebrate Congo’s 60th independence anniversary, but it had to be cancelled due to travel restrictions. It had been planned for March 2022, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted both heads of state to announce another postponement.
But finally, on 7 June, the King and Queen of the Belgians landed in Kinshasa, accompanied by the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, the Minister of Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir and the State Secretary for Relaunch and Strategic Investments charged of Scientific Policy Thomas Darmine.
Their first stop in the Congolese capital was the memorial for ancient combatants, where they honoured all the servicemen that laid their lives in conflicts.
It was then time for one of the most anticipated moments; the Belgian royal couple travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Museum, where King Philippe unveiled a giant mask, “kakuungu,” belonging to the Suku people of the southwest of the country. The mask is believed to have protective properties and was used to perform imitation ceremonies.
The object is one of the many pieces brought from Congo to Belgium, and this gesture is believed to be a strong signal from the Belgian Crown of their reconciliation intents. The mask is on “indefinite loan” to the facility from Belgium’s Africa Museum, which seems to indicate that it has been essentially returned.
The next part of their first day involved the official welcoming ceremony. Because this is an official visit (and not a state visit), protocols are slightly more relaxed, which allowed for some events to take place before the two heads of state had officially met.
As is traditional, what followed was the bilateral meetings before the other highly anticipated moment of the visit: King Philippe’s speech to the people of Congo.
Many people, including some Congolese politicians, were expecting the formal apology that didn’t arrive in the Belgian monarch’s letter of 2020 when he wrote to President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo on the occasion of the country’s 60th independence anniversary.
And when that formal apology didn’t arrive, the public opinion split in half. On one side, some feel like Congo deserves a formal apology for the atrocities that took place under Belgian rule.
Others believe that the King expressing his “deep regret” and talking openly about the foundational flaws of that relationship is more than enough since he wasn’t even born when Congo was under colonial rule.
In his speech, King Philippe said: “Although many Belgians were sincerely committed, and deeply loved Congo and its inhabitants, the colonial regime as such was based on exploitation and domination. This regime was one of an unequal relationship, in itself unjustifiable, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism. It led to abuse and humiliation. On the occasion of my first trip to the Congo, right here, in front of the Congolese people and those who still suffer from it today, I wish to reaffirm my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past.”
It is also to be remarked that many believe that, once they get a formal apology, some political factions in the country will use it to demand economic compensation.
As many experts note, King Philippe does not hold any political power, which includes the country’s economic decisions. In 2020, shortly before Congo celebrated six decades of independence, the Belgian Parliament opened a commission to evaluate potential solutions for reparations in Congo.
This has led many experts to say that King Philippe will not offer any promises of compensation or reparations until the parliamentary commission releases its conclusions, which is supposed to happen later this year.
However, reparations often take the form of investments in social projects that benefit the local and state-wide communities, something that King Philippe already pledged in his speech when he said: “Through this trip, we want to emphasise that Belgium will continue to support all initiatives that contribute to the well-being of your country and offer the Congolese people a much-needed improvement in good governance, prosperity, health, security and justice. Our commitment to the DRC remains the same: a firm support to the stabilisation and democratisation of the country as well as to respect for human rights”.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s first day in Congo concluded with a visit to Silikin Village’s KinEmploi project, which aims to direct, educate and insert young people (at least 50% of which have to be women) into the work environment and an official dinner at the Cité de l’Union Africaine.
The King and Queen of the Belgians, together with their entire delegation, will be in the Democratic Republic of Congo until Monday, 13 June.
