Why did Katanga secede from the Congo?
Topic of Study [For H2 History 9174 Students]:
Paper 1: Conflict and Cooperation (1945-2000)
Section B: Essay Writing
Theme III Chapter 4: Intra-State Conflicts [Congo Crisis, 1960-1965]
Historical context: The secession
On 11 July 1960, the leader of Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT) Moïse Tshombe proclaimed the secession of Katanga, threatening the territorial integrity of a newly-independent Congo.
This southernmost province of the Congo was declared the “State of Katanga” with Élisabethville as its capital. The secession became a part of the ongoing Congo Crisis (1960-1965).
An economically-valuable Katanga: Economic motivations of CONAKAT & UMHK
From the economic standpoint, the secession was motivated by Tshombe’s desire to retain control of Katanga’s vast resources, limiting its diversion to the central government.
In 1960, Katanga was estimated to hold 10% of the world’s copper reserves and 34% of its cobalt reserves. However, Katanga had to contribute to 50% of Congo’s national budget and 25% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Further complications exacerbated the “Katanga” problem for the central government as the Belgian company Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (UMHK) financed Tshombe’s secession. About 1,250 million Belgian frans were given to Tshombe’s government in 1960, enabling the CONAKAT to hire foreign mercenaries and buy advanced weaponry to defend the province against the central government.
The UMHK feared that Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba pursued radical policies to nationalise Katanga’s resources, which included 75% of the Congo’s total mining production. Katanga itself produced almost 30% of the entire Belgian Congo’s revenue from copper sales.
As such, the UMHK functioned as a “state within a state“, exercising quasi-governmental powers by supporting the secession of Katanga.
Katanga was generally regarded as a “company province”. Moreover, YMKH influenced the Congolese political parties of the late 1950s. The white community (which in Katanga meant Union Minière) dominated Tshombe’s CONAKAT Party. […] The Belgians thus created the political basis of the Katangese secession.
Extracted from “The Political Economy of Third World Intervention: Mines, Money, and U.S. Policy in the Congo Crisis”
by David N. Gibbs (1991)
Notably, the Belgian government never officially recognised Tshombe’s regime. In the public sphere, Belgium opposed the secession.
CONAKAT’s aim: “Katanga for Katangans”
Besides, CONAKAT strove to create an “authentic” Katangan identity, primarily representing the Lunda and other southern tribes (Yeke and Bemba). This group viewed themselves as the rightful owners of the land and its mineral wealth.
In contrast, the “strangers” in Katanga were mainly the ethnic Luba people from the neighbouring Kasai province. They have been resettled by the Belgian colonial administration and UMHK for decades because the Belgians viewed them as the more “hardworking” workers.
In essence, Lumumba’s Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT) opposed Tshombe’s CONAKAT as both parties strived to control the Congolese territories and safeguard the interests of specific tribes. Hence, the secession was also a product of domestic politics.
Who were considered the authentic Katangese? According to Sauvy, cited by Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo: ‘Authentic Katangese are natives of Katanga or inhabitants who have been settled in Katanga territory for at least two generations. These groups that are often considered to be Katangese are Lunda, Baluba of Katanga, Bayeke, Basanga, Tshokwe, Batabwa and Babenda.’
Extracted from “Self-Determination and Secession in Africa: The Post-Colonial State” by Redie Bereketeab.
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