U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5 elections met a mixed reaction across the African continent, with some critics going so far as to deny democracy in the United States and portraying the nation as a predatory colonial state.
One such example is a highly misleading statement by South Africa’s far-left populist opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party (EFF), published on the social media platform X on November 6.
The EFF, South Africa’s third-largest political party, is founded and led by controversial figure and social media influencer Julius Malema, known for his radically divisive rhetoric. Malema is occasionally accused of hate speech and corruption, among other assertions, all of which he denies as politically motivated.
In a two-page paper titled EFF’s Statement on the Outcome of U.S. Presidential Elections, the party claimed “indifference” to the winner, but went on to portray the U.S. politics as the “worst kind” and “imperial” by nature.
Besides repeating a disputed theory that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency directed the 1961 assassination of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, the statement said the U.S. stands behind the current fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 100 rebel groups are fighting for control over natural resources.
The hostilities in Congo have already led to the displacement of more than 7.2 million people, according to U.N. statistics.
Congo is rich in gold, copper and cobalt – a key metal in producing electric vehicles.
“They [the U.S.] are now direct beneficiaries of instability in Congo, looting the natural resources to benefit their companies and their allies,” the EFF said.
That is misleading.
The United States exports copper, cacao and diamonds directly from Congo and via third countries, according to the State Department. Copper accounts for 50% of the trade between the two nations. U.S.
However, the U.S. takes measures to prevent any illicitly mined minerals from entering the American markets via third countries.
There is enough evidence that instead of profiteering from conflict in Congo, the United States has repeatedly condemned violence in the East African nation and has sanctioned militia groups and individuals involved in illegal mining.
The U.S. also criminalized trading in minerals stolen from war-torn nations.
In July 2010, the U.S. Congress passed into law the Dodd Frank Act, Section 1502, which requires all U.S. publicly listed companies to do due diligence on their supply chains of minerals that might originate from Congo and report their findings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Congolese government systematically accuses neighboring Rwanda and Uganda of illegally mining its resources by colluding with the rebels.
This past May, Congolese Mines Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi accused Rwanda of using M23 rebels to steal its natural resources. M23 is a militant group sanctioned by the U.N. and U.S. for human rights abuses. It broke away from the Congolese army a decade ago and is reportedly dominated by the ethnic Tutsi fighters originating in Rwanda.
That same month, the Congolese justice minister, Rose Mutombo, filed a case against Rwanda at the International Criminal Court, accusing Kigali of using the M23 rebels to steal its natural resources.
In 2023, the Financial Times cited the Congolese government as claiming to lose $1 billion worth of minerals annually to Rwanda, which exports “$1bn in gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten, even though the country has few mineral deposits of its own.”
Most recently, on July 8, the U.S. State Department accused Rwanda and Uganda of financing the conflict in Congo by facilitating the movements of stolen natural resources by armed groups, ”including artisanally and semi-industrially mined gold and tantalum.”
The State Department stated that “in many cases, these minerals directly or indirectly benefit armed groups and move out of the country through Rwanda and to Uganda before moving to major refining and processing countries.”
The United Nations has repeatedly highlighted in its reports that “ample evidence indicates that Rwanda and Uganda were financing their military expenditure with the profits from natural resources exploitation in DRC.”
