Yet Another Imperial Coup Attempt, This Time in the Democratic Republic of Congo

By David Starr

 

On May 18 and 19, 2024, there was a major incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

 

In a press statement put out by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, the details were revealed. The statement comprised six points that were made. Among them:

 

• Council took note of the briefing by the representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the attempted coup by armed individuals, near the Palace of the Nation, in Kinshasa…

 

• Council strongly condemned the attempted coup against a democratically elected government of President Felix Tshisekedi, which threatened to reverse the democratic gains achieved, so far, in the country, and to further destabilize the region.

 

• Council commended the defense and security forces of the DRC for their swift response and for bringing to book the perpetrators of the attempted coup, and the restoration of calm and normalcy in the country.

 

The leading perpetrator of the attempted coup was Christian Malanga, originally from Congo but attained U.S. citizenship. Malanga and two others were killed when they tried to resist arrest. In all, about 50 individuals were arrested, including three U.S. citizens, they being Marcel Malanga, the son of Christian Malanga, Benjamin Zalman-Polun from Maryland, and Tyler Thompson, Marcel’s high school football teammate in Utah.

 

The younger Malanga, like his father, got U.S. citizenship and was going to high school in Utah. In The Telegraph, Ben Farmer writes that Marcel “joined his father trying to overthrow Congo’s president [and] had asked friends from his high school football team to accompany him to the country.” Marcel, however, told them “they would be digging wells in the Central African nation or joining him on a family holiday.” Marcel must have inherited his father’s conniving demeanor by saying anything to get his friends to participate in a coup.

 

Marcel had a difficult time trying to convince fellow students and friends to go with him. Eventually, Tyler Thompson agreed to go. In the aftermath of the attempted coup, Thompson’s parents were shocked. Farmer quotes Thompson’s stepmother: “We are stunned and heartbroken by the videos we have seen from the coup attempt. We have no idea how he got wrapped up in this situation, which is completely out of character for him. We are certain he did not go to Africa with plans for political activism.”

 

The Congolese government didn’t clarify whether Thompson was arrested or killed. In one video, however, Thompson is surrounded by DRC soldiers with clasped hands and a horrified expression on his bloodied face.

 

According to Major General Sylvain Ekenge, an army spokesperson, those arrested have been held by military investigators. Ekenge said, “They are all considered as state enemies, captured enemies of the nation. They will be treated like that.”

 

The DRC isn’t alone in taking such action after a coup attempt. One, for example, has to look at Jan. 6, 2021 when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in what can be called an attempted coup. The penalties may be different, however. The DRC experienced years of invasion by the West, and thus, may take a more stringent approach against a threat, while the USA, being a serial invader, has given the rioters jail time.

 

Africa has been the focus of a rivalry between East and West. On the World Socialist Web Site, Kumaran Ira writes that “The coup took place as Washington and its NATO allies wage a bitter struggle for influence in Africa with China and Russia, amid the NATO-Russia war in Ukraine. The NATO imperialist powers are dissatisfied with the current DRC regime’s development of economic ties with Beijing and Moscow.”

 

Every time there’s a conflict in the world, the USA is usually behind it. Thus, it would not be surprising if operatives of the U.S. empire backed, at the least, the attempted coup. This is not far-fetched. The empire has committed “regime change” over the decades, especially in the Global South. 

 

Christian Malanga and the coup leaders emphasized their support for Mobutu Sese Seko, an imperialist-backed tyrant who rule the DRC when it was called Zaire from 1965 to 1997. Sese Seko’s rule was characterized by bloody repression, something the West, in particular the USA, basically ignored all those years.

 

Sese Seko’s regime emerged after the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who was leading the country in rejecting European colonial rule. Besides the USA and Belgium being involved, the Congolese elite also took a part in the assassination.  

 

When Malanga was in the DRC, he tried running for a position in the legislature in 2011 but was arrested by former President Joseph Kabila and served time. After his release, Malanga went to the USA where he formed the United Congolese Party (UCP), a right-wing entity. Malanga was typical of a U.S. client, like a “nephew” running to his Uncle Sam.

 

Lee Camp, host of Dangerous Ideas, provided further details of the attempted coup in this segment.

 

The DRC is endowed with mineral resources like uranium, copper, gold, tin, cobalt diamonds, manganese and zinc. Thus, the rivalry between the U.S./NATO alliance and Russia and China. The latter has already agreed to terms with President Felix Tshisekedi on establishing a deal with Chinese mining companies to extract those resources. As a result, China agreed to invest $3 billion for mine infrastructure and $6 billion for overall infrastructure in the DRC.

 

So far, China and Russia have established positive relations with Africa, while the U.S./NATO alliance, having been used to world dominance, feel threatened. And the alliance would probably want to sabotage this relationship. Another coup attempt would not be surprising.