A woman walks in front of electoral posters in the remote small village of Bonde, Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of Congo on December, 26, 2018, four days ahead of the delayed elections. PHOTO | LUIS TATO | AFP
Key dates in the post-independence history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where presidential elections will be held on Sunday:
On June 30, 1960, the Belgian Congo becomes independent. Power is shared between Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the president, and his prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.
Rivalry between the two quickly plunges the country into chaos. On July 5, a mutiny breaks out in the army.
In 1961, Lumumba, a popular figure in the campaign for independence from Belgium, is assassinated.
Colonel Joseph-Desire Mobutu plays a key role in his murder, in which some foreign powers are also implicated.
Several provinces, notably mineral-rich Katanga in the southeast, secede. A wave of violence unfurls, causing at least 500,000 deaths by 1965.
