Decryption

DRC: the historic visit of the King of the Belgians

Audio 7:30 p.m.

King Philippe of the Belgians is visiting the DRC from June 7 to 12, 2022 for a historic official trip.

© AP/Mads Claus Rasmussen

By: Johanne Burgell

1 min

Philippe will be from tomorrow (Tuesday June 7) in the former Belgian colony and will stay there for six days.

Since the start of his reign in 2013, King Philippe has never set foot in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The last visit of a Belgian sovereign dates back to 2010, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Congo's independence.

Albert II had then made the trip, but he had not made a speech.

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Since then, King Philippe has expressed, in a letter, his deep regrets for the wounds of colonization.

As a reminder, between 1885 and 1908, the Congo was the property of Leopold II.

The Congo subsequently became a Belgian colony and remained so until independence on June 30, 1960.

Tomorrow, Tuesday June 7, therefore, at the invitation of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Prime Minister Alexander de Croo will arrive in Kinshasa.

Decryption with

- Kris Berwouts

, independent researcher and analyst specializing in the DRC and currently an author for

- Benoît Henriet

, professor of history at the

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