Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2004 — military coup attempt

Event Summary

On 11 June 2004 a coup was attempted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against the transitional government of President Joseph Kabila, when renegade members of the presidential guard led by Major Eric Lenge briefly seized control of state broadcast facilities in Kinshasa. In the early hours, at around 2:40 am, the rebels took over the state radio and television stations and Major Lenge announced over the air that the country's transitional institutions were suspended and that he was assuming control, while a blackout, reportedly caused by the plotters, darkened the capital. But the coup had no backing from the government, the wider military, or foreign powers, and it collapsed within hours: by dawn loyalist troops had retaken the state radio and driven Lenge and his men back to a military base, and after clashes across the city the plotters were scattered, with many arrested and Lenge himself eventually fleeing.

Kabila was unharmed and remained in power. The abortive putsch, coming amid the shaky post war transition, prompted some opposition figures to allege that Kabila had staged it himself to justify emergency powers, though it more plausibly reflected the fragility and factionalism of the transitional order.