For years, Colonel Siatilo Ngizo was a soldier in Congo's eastern battlefields, serving in a rebel army that tried -- and failed -- to seize Kinshasa, the capital.
Ngizo finally has made it to Kinshasa -- not as a fighter, but as a bureaucrat.
He serves in an internationally brokered power-sharing government of former enemies charged with a daunting task: patching together a nation the size of western Europe torn apart by five years of war.
But with old rivalries running deep and half the country still carved into de facto fiefdoms, it isn't easy to divvy up power, government posts and mineral spoils.
"Things are moving very, very slowly," said Ngizo, the defense minister's adviser on military affairs.
"People are resisting change," he said.
The transitional government was born nine months ago in a peace deal after a conflict that sucked in the armies of half a dozen African nations and claimed an estimated 3 million lives, mainly through war-induced hunger and disease.
Congolese President Joseph Kabila has four vice presidents -- two of them rebel leaders who had long fought to overthrow him. A two-house legislature is divided among eight groups, including smaller rebel factions, the political opposition and the Mayi Mayi, a tribal militia whose followers believe magic water can protect them from bullets.
In the lush hills overlooking Kinshasa, rebel officials have moved into sprawling villas, living alongside government officials who were once their enemies.
Airlines fly to formerly rebel-held eastern cities. Long-severed trade routes on the Congo river have reopened.
"Not long ago, it wasn't possible to think that we could all sit together in the same government. We've made a great step," said Sesanga Hipungu, chief of staff for Jean-Pierre Bemba, a vice president and one-time rebel leader.
"But there is a long way to go," he said.
In the capital, former rebels complain that military brigades, police and ubiquitous intelligence agents are still controlled by Kabila and the hardliners around him.
Their leaders each have about 200 troops in the city -- and a helicopter on standby for a quick escape if needed.
Other habits die hard.
In south and central Congo, the main state companies exploiting lucrative diamond, copper and cobalt mines are still run by Kabila appointees, who, along with the president's closest associates, are believed to be profiting personally.
In the north and east, former rebel factions retain control over huge tracts of land rich in gold, diamonds, timber and coffee.
In a mineral-rich country long pillaged by its leaders, the poor are resigned to more of the same.
"They're all egoists, they only care about themselves," said Guy, a security guard who wouldn't give his surname.
"While we're struggling to find something to eat, they're trying to find nice cars to drive," Guy said.
To regain control of Africa's third largest nation, Kabila has dispatched 10 new regional military commanders nationwide -- putting rebels in former government zones and vice versa.
But plans to appoint new governors to each of Congo's 11 provinces -- a big step toward imposing central government authority -- have bogged down in bickering over how to share the posts.
Elections are scheduled for June next year, but many believe they will be delayed. Much of the east is still volatile and lawless, despite the presence of 10,800 UN peacekeepers.
RSS