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Uranium, Dictators, and Cobalt: A Century of American Interests in Congo

Gyslaine Kabisa
6 min read
American influence in Congo

While many Americans, in their effort to showcase Africa as a “savage” or chaotic land, forget to include the role their own government has played in the underdevelopment of Africa, and especially Congo, history tells a different story. It makes one wonder: if certain African nations were to rise, would that also mean a shift of power away from the Western world? And if so, are some countries deliberately kept in poverty to prevent that shift?

This piece is written for both the uninformed American and the unaware Congolese, to shed light on the many historical reasons why Congo, a land overflowing with natural wealth, remains underdeveloped.

1. The Fall of Patrice Lumumba

At Congo’s independence in 1960, Patrice Lumumba, the nation’s first Prime Minister, envisioned a free and united Congo, no longer under foreign rule. His bold speeches against colonialism inspired hope across Africa, but they also set off alarm bells in Washington and Brussels.

Lumumba refused to take sides in the Cold War, declaring that Congo would remain neutral, a move the United States interpreted as a potential threat. In response, the CIA infiltrated Congo under the guise of cultural diplomacy, sending a jazz band to Kinshasa to perform, and to spy on Lumumba.

Within months, Lumumba was overthrown, captured, and brutally executed, with the green light from both the United States and Belgium. His body was dissolved in acid to erase all trace of him. Decades later, Belgium returned Lumumba’s tooth to his family in 2022, a haunting symbol of the violence inflicted on Congo’s first leader.

Lumumba’s death marked the beginning of a cycle of Western interference and exploitation that would last for decades.

2. Mobutu Sese Seko: America’s “Man in Africa”

After Lumumba’s assassination, the CIA helped Mobutu Sese Seko, a young army officer, seize power. Mobutu became Washington’s favorite dictator, flamboyant, ruthless, and staunchly anti-communist.

For over 30 years, Mobutu ruled Congo (renamed Zaire) with an iron fist, while receiving billions in Western aid. He was welcomed at the White House, praised by U.S. presidents as a “stabilizing” force in Central Africa.

Back home, life was anything but stable. Public executions were broadcast on national TV to instill fear. Political parties were banned. When Mobutu decided to hold “elections,” he was the only candidate.

As Mobutu enriched himself with gold-plated palaces and villas in Europe, Zaire’s economy collapsed. Schools, hospitals, and public infrastructure deteriorated. Yet as long as he served U.S. interests, Mobutu’s brutality was not only tolerated, but it was also funded.

3. The Fall of Mobutu and the Rise of Rwanda’s Influence

By the 1990s, Mobutu’s Western allies were tired of his corruption and failing grip on power. The Cold War was over, and America no longer needed him. The U.S. shifted its regional strategy toward Rwanda and Uganda, led by Paul Kagame and Yoweri Museveni.

Through this new alliance, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, a former rebel and Lumumba supporter, was backed by Rwanda and Uganda to overthrow Mobutu in 1997. His victory, however, was not a revolution for Congolese sovereignty; it was a transition of power managed by foreign interests.

4. The Assassination of Laurent Kabila

Laurent Kabila, once in power, grew disillusioned with his Rwandan and Ugandan allies. He expelled their troops, reclaimed control of Congo’s mines, and sought independence from Western influence. But his boldness cost him his life.

In 2001, Kabila was assassinated in his own office by one of his bodyguards. While the official story remains unclear, several reports point to foreign involvement, including possible ties to U.S. and regional intelligence.

His son, Joseph Kabila, quickly took power, supported by the same foreign networks his father had tried to resist. Allegations about Joseph’s Rwandan origins, combined with widespread corruption and economic decline, deepened the crisis.

5. The Uranium of Shinkolobwe : Congo’s Soil Used to Build the Bomb

Long before the modern cobalt rush, Congo’s soil supplied a mineral that changed the course of history. The Shinkolobwe mine in Katanga produced exceptionally high-grade uranium ore. During World War II and the Manhattan Project, two-thirds of the uranium used by the Manhattan Project came from the Shinkolobwe deposit, uranium that helped build the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The story is grimly symbolic: Congolese soil provided the raw material for the world’s first nuclear weapons, yet those who mined it saw no compensation, no public works, and no safety protections. The extraction was carried out for military supremacy, not for Congolese development, and no local infrastructure was built to reflect or return the immense value taken from the land. The mine’s high radioactivity left long-term health and environmental scars on local communities, with little remediation or care from the companies and governments that profited.

6. U.S. Aid, Rwanda’s Military Growth, and Eastern Congo’s Wars

While Congo struggled with internal chaos and international restrictions, Rwanda — though not at war, received increasing levels of U.S. and Western aid, including military assistance.

Between 2003 and 2014, U.S. bilateral aid to Rwanda rose from $39 million to nearly $188 million. In 2013 alone, the U.S. allocated $6.5 million in military aid, including $3.5 million from the Department of Defense. Although much of the aid is described as development assistance, military training and capacity building were part of the package.

At the same time, the DRC faced restrictions on acquiring arms beyond a UN “notification regime,” limiting its ability to rebuild or fully control security in the east. UN and media investigations later reported that 3,000–4,000 Rwandan soldiers operated in eastern Congo alongside M23 rebels, an arrangement that allowed control of mineral-rich areas. Rwanda also exported minerals such as gold and coltan that it does not possess in significant quantity, indicating extraction from Congolese territory through proxies.

This imbalance, Western-backed militarization in Rwanda vs. constrained sovereignty in Congo, helped sustain conflict, resource plundering, and the broader underdevelopment of eastern Congo.

7. The Legacy: Underdevelopment by Design

Today, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the most resource-rich yet impoverished countries on Earth. Its cobalt powers smartphones and electric vehicles; its minerals feed global industries. Yet the people who live atop these resources continue to suffer poor health, failing schools, crumbling hospitals, and little infrastructure, while foreign companies and foreign army's benefit.

From the CIA’s cultural infiltration and the seizure of Shinkolobwe’s uranium, to Mobutu’s U.S.-backed dictatorship, Laurent Kabila’s assassination, and Western support for regional militaries, one pattern recurs: external interests have repeatedly prioritized strategic and economic gain over Congolese wellbeing.

If the world truly wants to “help” Congo, it must begin with truth-telling: acknowledging the role foreign governments, including the United States, played in breaking this country, and committing to reparative policies, fair supply chains, and genuine partnership that puts Congolese priorities first.

Sources & Further Reading

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