Middle East & Africa | The big men still eat

Congo’s president cuts free of his would-be puppetmaster

Two years after a rigged election, Félix Tshisekedi is asserting himself

|KINSHASA

IN THE LAWLESS eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, nomads and sedentary folk often clash. Cattle-rearing groups rub up against crop-growers over access to land. In the absence of a strong state, disputes can quickly turn violent. By contrast another type of nomadism obsesses the population in Gombe, the wealthy core of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa: that of elected officials.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The president pounces”

How well will vaccines work?

From the February 13th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Middle East & Africa

Palestinians newar a burnt-out vehicle after a group of settlers attacked a village in the West Bank

The Gaza ceasefire is stoking violence in the West Bank

Hamas and the Israeli far right both want to destabilise the West Bank

People hold a banner featuring Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as members of the Syrian community and supporters gather to celebrate the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, in Istanbul, December 8, 2024

Turkey is determined to expand its influence in the new Syria

That could cause tensions with the Arab world—and Israel


Israeli-Palestinian-conflict-January-19

The start of a fragile truce in Gaza offers relief and joy

But the ceasefire is not yet the end of the war


West African booze is becoming a luxury product

Female entrepreneurs are leading the charge

The Trump effect could upend the Middle East

Will Israel and Donald Trump use the threat of annexation to secure a new grand bargain?

After 15 months of hell, Israel and Hamas sign a ceasefire deal

Donald Trump provided the X factor by putting heat on Binyamin Netanyahu, who insists the war isn’t over yet