President Félix Tshisekedi's leadership in the Democratic Republic of Congo is under scrutiny for,  among other things, the unmet anti-corruption promises. Transparency International's low ranking of the country and scandals over misused funds highlight systemic challenges jeopardizing the nation's stability.

According to the 2022 Transparency International’s report on corruption perception index, DRC ranks 166th out of 180 countries.

When he assumed office, in 2019, Tshisekedi promised to fight endemic corruption and make life better for all Congolese people. But he failed, or simply never even tried.

On several occasions, the Catholic Church in DRC condemned the “illicit enrichment” by Tshisekedi and officials of his government.

In a March 2022 statement, several Congolese catholic bishops claimed that corruption and the embezzlement of public funds continue.

“We are witnessing the illicit and scandalous enrichment by a handful of political actors to the detriment of the population,” the bishops said. “To make matters worse, these crimes are committed by the same people who are called to be guarantors of the public good.”

In July 2023, Kinshasa hosted the games of La Francophonie; after which Congolese authorities and organizers faced public criticism over the mismanagement as regards the funds of preparations for the games and the cost.

Congolese Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi, reported that DRC spent $324 million, seven times as much as planned, to host the games.

Responding to the minister's comments, Francophonie games' Director Isidore Kwandja Ngembo said that his committee had only been responsible for the agreed budget for activities, only $66 million.

This raised suspicion about how Tshisekedi’s government overvalued their activities for the Francophonie games.

The Tshisekedi’s government is not new to such corruption scandals.

In a statement on April 27, 2023, a report by the inspectorate General of Finance (IGF) revealed massive embezzlement of taxpayers’ money. According to the findings of an audit of the government's payroll, the IGF noted numerous irregularities, with tens of thousands of ghost employees.

"The monthly loss of earnings suffered by the treasury is 148,999,749,440.95 Congolese francs ($66.2 million)," the IGF stated.

The Congolese public finance watchdog noted that more than 145,000 paid agents have incorrect, fictitious and fabricated registration numbers for payroll purposes.

Nearly $800 million is lost annually from the public treasury through this kind of embezzlement.

Tshisekedi’s term has been characterized by a surge of corruption cases in government offices, especially among his close circle. In September 2022, leaked videos went viral showing Vidiye Tshimanga, special strategic advisor to Tshisekedi, offering unlimited access to the country’s mineral resources in exchange for bribes, including shares in the companies and underhand paybacks, for himself and the president.

The video exposed the inner image of Tshisekedi’s circle, and the high levels of corruption in the country.

The US Department of State sanctioned three top environmental officials in the DRC for allegedly trafficking wildlife and involvement in “significant corruption.”

The blacklisted individuals trafficked “chimpanzees, gorillas, okapi, and other protected wildlife from the DRC, primarily to the People’s Republic of China, using falsified permits, in return for bribes,” the department said in a statement.

Due to the mismanagement of resources and widespread corruption in the DRC, nearly two-thirds of the country's approximately 100 million inhabitants live on less than $2.15 a day, the international poverty line, according to the World Bank.

Tshisekedi has failed his compatriots in so many ways.