Like other politicians, he had criticized the regime for not respecting its timetable for 1999 elections. Fewer than 1 in 5 Kinshasa residents say they now would vote for Kabila. Rwandans still hold key positions in the Army. Angolan troops who came to aid Kabila's coup have yet to leave. A number of Kabila's advisers are Tutsi, viewed by many local residents as foreigners.
Streets overflow with Swahili-speaking child soldiers from eastern Congo.
As a result, eastern Congo remains in a seemingly endless state of civil war waged by ethnic groups and hordes of jobless young men. There are a few bright spots, like Kabila's campaign against corruption. The administration swiftly fired its own head of security, an alcoholic who had become notorious for arresting people and demanding bribes to let them go. At the airport, travelers now can slip through baggage checks without parting with half their cash. But Kabila's capricious handling of foreign investors has exacerbated decades of mismanagement that has left the economy in shambles.