A Puzzling Attempted Coup in the DRC

The news reports of this past weekend’s failed coup attempt in Kinshasa read like a Mad Lib—a father-son duo from Utah and a cannabis entrepreneur from Maryland were part of a small band livestreaming an attempt to overthrow the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the conspiratorial hothouse of Congolese politics, the bizarre incident, which culminated in deadly consequences for several people including Christian Malanga, leader of the would-be putchists, has raised numerous as yet unanswered questions. Who convinced Malanga that this effort would succeed? How did the amateurish group manage to access the presidential palace? Whose agenda was advanced by this spectacle?

It remains to be seen how the failed coup d’état will influence politics in the DRC, but one clear loser would seem to be the United States. Certainly, the incident made U.S. Ambassador to the DRC Lucy Tamlyn’s job more difficult. As social media accounts buzzed with accusations of CIA involvement, she registered “shock and concern” while pledging to cooperate with the Congolese government in investigating the incident. Cooler heads recognized that the failed takeover hardly bore the hallmarks of a professional intelligence organization, but the notion of armed Americans meddling in Congolese politics echoes the real and sordid history of U.S. policies during the Cold War. As the United States aims to find a constructive way forward with the DRC on a range of issues from critical mineral deals to forest conservation and conflict resolution, developments that stir up historic resentments benefit only those who wish to see the United States on the back foot.

Yet another unhelpful narrative is buttressed by the bizarre events in the DRC—one about contempt. The story creates the impression that Americans so underestimate African states that they imagine a government can be overthrown by a small group of outsiders with nothing but fatigues, guns, and a can-do attitude. It’s consistent with former President Trump’s vulgar characterization of African countries, with press coverage that uses images from one part of the continent to accompany a story about a completely different country, and with analyses that consistently overlook the agency of Africans themselves in explaining major political developments. A small, misguided group with a sprinkling of American passports have boosted the efforts of America’s adversaries in Africa.