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Kasavubu becomes president and head of state, while Lumumba becomes prime minister at the head of a coalition.
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The nation becomes independent on 30 June 1960, as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Lumumba dismisses the Belgian officers and appoints Congolese officers in their place.25,000 Belgians flee the country. 10,000 Belgian troops fly in to protect European lives and property. Moise Tshombe declares the independence of Katanga and with the help of Belgian troops, he is able to get rid of all units of the Congolese army.
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On September 4, President Kasavubu announces that he has dismissed Lumumba as prime minister. Lumumba, in response, hurries to the radio station to broadcast that he has dismissed Kasavubu as president. Mobutu Sese Seko, the minister of defense, declares that he is 'neutralizing' all politicians and is temporarily taking over the duties of government in the name of the army.
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In November 1960, Lumumba unwisely leaves Léopoldville, where he has been living under UN protection. He is captured by forces loyal to Kasavubu. He is sent to Katanga in January 1961. He is last seen on arrival in Katanga being transferred, blindfold and handcuffed. He is believed to have been murdered either by Katangan police or Belgian mercenaries. Evidence emerged years later that suggest both President Eisenhower and the Belgian government helped plan this incident.
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Mobutu was secretly on Kasavubu's side. In February 1961, Mobutu returns the government to Kasavubu, who appoints him commander of the army.
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UN policy moves from a neutral peacekeeping role to active
intervention against Katanga. -
After strong initial resistance, the Katangan army gives up the fight in January 1963. Tshombe flees into exile in Spain.
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Tshombe returns from Spain. New elections for the national assembly are held in April 1965. Tshombe's party seems to win a majority but in the aftermath of the election he is dismissed from his post by Kasavubu. He then returns to Spain.
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Mobutu, now commander in chief, has been strengthening the Congolese army and with it his own power. In October 1965 he stages a coup, dismisses Kasavubu, and takes on the role of president.
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Mobutu creates a dictatorship, forming in 1966 the MPR (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution) as the only permitted political party. The colonial capital, Léopoldville, becomes, in 1966, Kinshasa, in attempt to bring about more African identity.
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In 1971, the nation acquired an appealing new name, Zaire.
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In 1977 and 1978, there are major invasions of Katanga, now called Shaba, by an opposition group, the FLNC (Front de la Libération Nationale Congolaise), operating from Angola. Mobutu recovers control with help from Morocco and France.
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By 1990, the mood of the times forces upon democracy on Mobutu.
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A national conference in 1991 elects a government headed by an opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi. Motubu accepts him as prime minister but the two have numerous conflicts.
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In 1994 the World Bank closes its office in Kinshasa and declares the country bankrupt.
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In 1994 a million Hutu refugees flee into Zaire from Rwanda. By 1995, their camps are controlled by the Hutu militia responsible for the massacre of Tutsi in Rwanda. Their presence leads to attacks on Tutsi resident for generations on the Zaire side of the border.
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Motubu's government sided with the Hutu. The Tutsi, fighting back against Hutu aggression, find a very effective leader, Laurent Kabila. When Kabila and his men start winning a succession of local victories, Mobutu sends the Zairean army against him - to no avail. Kabila astonishes the world by announcing, early in 1997, that unless Mobutu resigns within two weeks, his regime will be overthrown by force.
