Congo, Democratic Republic of the
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 306-309 |
Page 306
Official country name: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Capital: Kinshasa
Geographic description: The largest country in central Africa occupying most of the Congo River basin
Population: 60,085,804 (est. 2005)
Under its original organization the colonial Force Publique combined the functions of a police force and an army, and this dual role was retained unchanged until shortly after World War I. At that time, the Belgians reorganized the force and created a mixed organization composed of Garrison Troops for general military purposes and Territorial Service Troops for police duties. Although they remained an integral part of the Force Publique and could revert to the direct command of the military commander when needed, the Territorial Service Troops were deployed throughout the colony and, under the command of the provincial governors, primarily performed a constabulary function.
The Territorial Service troops became the Gendarmerie in 1959 and, following independence a year later, were incorporated into the Armée Nationale Congolese (ANC). The strength of the Gendarmerie at independence was about 3,000, but almost all the officers and many of the noncommissioned officers were Belgians. Most the Belgians in the Gendarmerie left the country in the wake of ANC mutinies and a general European exodus, and the Gendarmerie found itself, almost overnight, entirely Africanized and depleted of its top brass. Besides the Gendarmerie, two other police forces—the Chief's Police and the Territorial Police—existed under colonial rule and were carried into post-independence Congo.
The Chief's Police were rural police forces used to maintain order as well as to fulfill the functions of messengers, jailors, and court attendants. Although these small police units were uniformed, they did not carry firearms, their pay was low, and they received practically no training. The Territorial Police was a more formal organization and at independence numbered more than 6,000 troops stationed throughout the country. Each province administered and supported its own force, which in most cases was officered by former Belgian policemen. Besides the conventional mission of maintaining law and order, the Territorial Police operated prisons, guarded public buildings, and reinforced the Chief's Police when needed. Detachments of the
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Territorial Police were permanently located in the provincial capitals and performed all the civil police functions of a municipal force. Territorial Police personnel were uniformed and armed, and recruits received six months training before being assigned. In the mining areas of Katanga, a special police force recruited, financed and controlled by the Union Miniere de Haute-Katanga policed mines and the camps but...
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