The Making of a dictator Hailed as a liberator, Kabila soon revealed his authoritarian nature. Security forces race through the streets in advance of the President's entourage, waving guns and barking orders to ensure everyone abides by the rules. Pedestrians freeze in their tracks. Fruit vendors cease their sales and sit motionless on the curb.
Cars come to an abrupt stop at the side of the road.
But the world expected Mr. Kabila to be different. Since then, the self-proclaimed President of the Democratic Republic of Congo has increasingly come to resemble the despot he replaced. You can't taste the difference. He hands top jobs to family members and fellow tribesmen. He has shunned elections, banned public protest, restricted political opposition, closed newspapers and jailed even the mildest critics by the dozen.