My name is Vincenz Bill, and I currently work in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament as a trainee for the Renew Europe Group. My work mainly focuses on issues related to EU accession countries in Eastern Europe and relations between the EU and North African/Sahel countries.
Before that, I graduated from the University of St Andrews with a Master’s in Strategic Studies, where I developed a strong interest in EU-Africa relations, writing my thesis on French-African neocolonialism. I have also worked as a Research Analyst for the Scottish NGO Project Khthon, where I utilised Open-Source Intelligence to track rebel movements and detect mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sub-Saharan Africa is an incredibly dynamic and fragile region, which unfortunately does not get the attention it deserves. This continues to be to the detriment of our ability to understand the politics, cultures and people in these countries, preventing us from engaging with them on anything resembling equal footing.
With this Dispatch series, I aim to shed light on some of the most impactful developments happening each month, with the hope that, through open and genuine engagement, we can develop this understanding together.
The Democratic Republic of Congo: A sign of peace amidst the horrors of war
The government of the DRC is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Taken by surprise, when the M23 rebels attacked in January, they were unable to stop the M23 rebels from capturing key eastern cities, including Goma in January and Bukavu in February. These offensives have resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of over seven million people. With displacement camps overcrowded, the DRC government is unable to deliver necessary aid, and the humanitarian efforts are underfunded since USAID fell victim to Trump and Musk’s “chainsaw of bureaucracy”; this has produced one of the gravest humanitarian crises in the world today.
“The vilest scramble for loot that has ever disfigured the history of human conscience” is how Joseph Conrad described the concessions made to private companies for Congo’s natural resources during its brutal colonial rule. In today’s day and age, where transactionalist dealmaking seems to supersede a rules-based international order, the US and China are licking their chops, as this war provides them with the opportunity to get a ‘cheap deal’ on what they want most: Access to the DRC’s vast natural resources, ranging from traditional valuables such as gold and diamonds to lithium and coltan, critical raw materials in the production of batteries and chips, which are heavily relied upon by companies such as Apple, Intel and Tesla. Access to those resources is a key part of their economic strategy to ensure a steady and cheap supply for their respective tech sectors.
Knowing that this is their only remaining chip left to play, the DRC’s government is using it to leverage international pressure from the US, UK and European Union on Rwanda to end hostilities. This seems to have worked for the time being, as recent peace talks facilitated by Qatar have led to a joint commitment from both the DRC government and M23 rebels to cease hostilities and work towards a truce. This marks the first mutual agreement between the parties, differing from previous unilateral ceasefire declarations that failed to hold. However, implementing and monitoring the truce remains challenging due to the volatile and inaccessible nature of the Kivu provinces, where much of the fighting has occurred. While the northeast of the DRC remains under occupation and the humanitarian crisis is still as urgent as ever, this is at least a first step towards establishing a framework for discussions in which these issues can be approached productively. Nevertheless, the situation remains highly volatile and is continuing to evolve on a daily basis. Every step in this process will need to be monitored closely to ensure that the lives of tens of thousands of innocent civilians can be saved, the immediate urgency of their situation alleviated, and their mid- to long-term safety guaranteed.
Gabon: A sign of hope for democracy?
On April 12, 2025, Gabon held its first presidential election since the August 2023 military coup that ended the Bongo family’s 56-year rule. General Brice Oligui Nguema, who led the coup and served as transitional president, secured a decisive victory with 90.35% of the vote, according to provisional results announced by the interior minister. His primary opponent, former Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, received just over 3% of the vote. While the high voter turnout of approximately 70% indicated public engagement, the election’s fairness has been questioned. Bilie By Nze criticised the process as lacking transparency and fairness, citing the misuse of state resources and the absence of a level playing field. However, local observers monitoring the polling stations deemed the conduct of the election satisfactory. Furthermore, the Constitutional Court has ratified the election outcomes, not having identified sufficient evidence for Nze’s interference claims.
For context, since the family’s first president, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled from 1967 to 2009, Gabon has been one of France’s most closely controlled and subservient allies in the region. Once described by journalist Pierre Péan as “an extreme case of neocolonialism, bordering on caricature”, Omar Bongo installed a single-party state, gave France a share of its critical fuel and uranium resources in exchange for helping keep him in power, and allowed Gabonese infrastructure to be used for French military interventions in the region.
Just days after the election, the concentration of power in Nguema’s hands and the suppression of opposition voices since 2023 had already raised concerns about the depth of democratic commitment. The African Union and other international bodies will likely closely monitor Gabon’s political trajectory, as it may influence governance models in Central and West Africa. While there is reason to be cautiously optimistic, specifically with regards to improvements on civil liberties, it seems unlikely that this is the fundamental break with its past that many are hoping for: Many key figures from the Bongo era have continued to play an essential role during the Nguema-led transition process since 2023. Among them are transition Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima, former Prime Minister from 2012 to 2014, as well as President of the National Assembly Jean-Francois Ndongou, who was Ali Bongo’s Interior Minister from 2009 to 2012.
Furthermore, Nguema has already emphasised a continuing close relationship with France, one aspect of which will be the joint repurposing of the infamous military base Camp Charles de Gaulle as a military training centre. A break with its old coloniser is nowhere in sight, which hardly inspires hope in those who may look to President Nguema as the man to finally snap the ties of domination and exploitation.
Nevertheless, for many Gabonese, the election represents a new chapter in their country’s history and a return of hope after almost 6 decades of the Bongo dynasty’s tight grip on state politics, society and its vast natural resources: Nguema’s victory and the constitutional reforms will likely have broader implications beyond Gabon. In a region where military coups have disrupted democratic processes in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, Gabon’s return to civilian rule through elections sets a potential precedent. Other military leaders, such as Niger’s President General Tchiani, may look to put a more democratic coat of paint on their governments, seeing as it serves to bring increased internal stability and civil support while also easing tensions with international actors such as the EU. This, of course, without really changing anything substantial in the way of relinquishing their grip on power in favour of allowing citizens to freely choose leaders that are not closely aligned with their ideological positions.