Watchtower Reaches the Belgian Congo
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Developmental Colonialism and Kitawala Policy in 1950s Belgian Congo by Dominic Emanuel Martin Pistor B.A. (History and French), Simon Fraser University, 2009 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dominic Emanuel Martin Pistor 2012 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2012 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorisation, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Dominic Emanuel Martin Pistor Degree: Master of Arts (History) Title of Thesis: Developmental Colonialism and Kitawala Policy in 1950s Belgian Congo Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Hilmar Pabel, Professor of History Dr. Thomas Kühn Senior Supervisor Assistant Professor of History Dr. Alison Ayers Supervisor Assistant Professor of Sociology & Anthropology and Political Science Dr. Florence Bernault External Examiner Professor of History, Department of History University of Wisconsin-Madison Date Defended/Approved: April 16, 2012 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract Though much has been written about Kitawala, a Central African offshoot of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in the Belgian Congo, little has been produced on the colonial government’s post-war policy towards the religious movement. Kitawala was a popular religious movement that frequently stood in tension with established power figures, African and European alike, because its pastors prophesied a millennial event at which foreign rule and exploitation would end. Drawing on the Belgian colonial record, this thesis elucidates the ways in which colonial Kitawala policy changed significantly in the 1950s in line with post-war developmental colonialism that sought to expand imperial resources while also re-legitimising colonial rule. In light of anti-colonial, nationalist movements emerging across the Africa, colonial officials hoped to co-opt the majority of Kitawalists with a wide range of development programs, while repressing Kitawalists who remained implacable critics of Belgian rule. Keywords: Belgian Congo; Kitawala; Colonialism; Development; Decolonisation; Democratic Republic of the Congo iv Dedication To the members of my family, you each contributed to this thesis in your own time, in your own way. v Acknowledgements I am grateful to many organisations and people for help, both direct and indirect, in researching and writing this thesis. In Belgium the staffs at the Archives Africaines – Ministère des Affaires Étrangères and the Archives de l’Abbaye de Saint-André were very helpful during my research. I am indebted to Doctor Jim Taylor for allowing me to use his photograph of a Kitawala procession in this thesis. The SFU History Department gave me several opportunities to work as a TA, providing me with an income, invaluable pedagogical experience, and practice with diverse methods of interpretation. I would like to thank Professors Luke Clossey, Sarah Walshaw, Jeremy Brown and Mark Leier for taking me on as a TA. I am grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for providing me with the generous funding that allowed me to take the time to complete this thesis. I am equally grateful to SFU for awarding me a Travel and Minor Research Award to cover part of my research travel costs. I would also like to thank the SFU Library staff for assisting me in my research and writing, notably the people at the Interlibrary Loans Office, Rebecca Dowson and Joanie Wolfe. I owe several people from the SFU History Department a special debt of gratitude. My former senior supervisor Professor Felicitas Becker, with her extensive knowledge of African history and analytical feedback, was essential in helping me research and write my thesis. Thank you to my current senior supervisor Professor Thomas Kühn for taking me on as his graduate student when Professor Becker was unable to continue supervising my thesis. Professor Kühn’s encouragement and attention to detail was vital in assisting me in the final stages of my work. This thesis would also not have been possible without the untiring help and support of Professor Sarah Walshaw; her editing advice was invaluable in reducing the length of this thesis. I would also like to give my sincere thanks to Ruth Anderson for answering innumerable questions. vi Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ....................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... vii List of Figures................................................................................................................. ix List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2. The Making of the Congolese Kitawala .............................................. 22 Watchtower Fundamentals ............................................................................................ 23 Watchtower in Africa ..................................................................................................... 24 Watchtower Reaches the Belgian Congo ...................................................................... 26 Kitawala in the Belgian Congo and the Reaction of the Colonial State .......................... 28 Kitawala in Orientale Province and the Masisi-Lubutu Uprising ..................................... 33 Post-1944 and ‘Political Kitawala’ in Orientale Province ................................................ 35 Chapter 3. Colonial Anxieties ................................................................................ 37 Xenophobic Kitawala ..................................................................................................... 38 Kitawala and Communism ............................................................................................. 39 Kitawala, the Stanleyville-Ponthierville Plots and Nationalism ....................................... 42 Chapter 4. State ‘Solutions’ - Part I: Repression or Toleration? ......................... 50 Legalise it? .................................................................................................................... 52 Threat Perception and the Elaboration of Kitawala ‘types’ in the 1950s ......................... 56 The Team ...................................................................................................................... 60 Greater Contact with the ‘Natives,’ or Avoiding a Congolese Mau Mau ......................... 65 Prison and Concentration Camp Reform ....................................................................... 69 Chapter 5. State ‘Solutions’ – Part II: Colonial Development, and Co- optation ................................................................................................. 74 Post-War Developmental Colonialism in the Belgian Congo .......................................... 74 Kitawala and the Politics of Belgian Colonial Development ........................................... 80 The Implementation of FBI and Plan Décennal Kitawala Projects ................................. 88 Chapter 6. The Effect .............................................................................................. 91 Team Success? ............................................................................................................ 93 Continuing Kitawala – Continuing Repression ............................................................... 96 The Final Years to Independence................................................................................ 100 Epilogue: Independence .............................................................................................. 108 vii Chapter 7. Conclusion.......................................................................................... 113 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 117 Archival Materials ........................................................................................................ 117 Archives de l’Abbaye de Saint-André, Zevenkerken ................................... 117 Archives Africaines – Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Brussels ............. 117 Doctoral Theses .......................................................................................................... 118 Electronic Sources ...................................................................................................... 118 Published