...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
, succeeding Joseph Kabila in the vast central African country's first transfer of power through an election in 59 years of independence.
In his speech before a cheering crowd of supporters on Thursday, Tshisekedi said that the country will not be one of "division, hate or tribalism".
"We want to build a strong Congo in its cultural diversity. We will promote its development in peace and security. A Congo for each and everyone, where everybody has his or her own place," he said.
Tshisekedi's speech, however, was momentarily disrupted when he "collapsed on the podium", according to Al Jazeera's Fahmida Miller, who was at the inauguration in the capital Kinshasa.
Tshisekedi was able to resume after a few minutes.
Tshisekedi's victory in the December 30 election was marred by accusations he struck a backroom deal with the outgoing president to deny victory to the strong opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu.