The Democratic Republic of Congo has a new face in Washington. On June 10, President Félix Tshisekedi appointed Yvette Ngandu Kapinga as the country’s ambassador to the United States, replacing Marie-Hélène Mathey Boo, who held the post since January 2022.

The timing is anything but casual. U.S.-Congo relations are entering a complicated stretch. Peace talks between Kinshasa and Kigali, hosted in D.C. with American mediation, are in motion. At the same time, Washington is negotiating access to Congo’s coveted supply of strategic minerals — the kind used in electric vehicles, smartphones, and missiles.

Meanwhile, a cloud is forming over Congo’s immigration status. On June 14, U.S. officials issued a 60-day warning to 36 countries, including the DRC, threatening travel bans unless they tighten up identity documents and crack down on fraud.

To navigate these high-stakes waters, President Tshisekedi is betting on a seasoned operator. Ngandu Kapinga isn’t just a diplomat — she’s a regional power player with American credentials.

Educated in Ohio at Bowling Green State University, she holds degrees in public administration and international relations. She knows the U.S. system from the inside, having worked with both the State Department and the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington.

Ngandu has spent over two decades working across diplomacy, governance, and peacebuilding. The new Ambassador was the African Union’s representative at the UN in New York. She advised Congo’s presidency on the Great Lakes peace framework. She served in the African Peer Review Mechanism in Johannesburg. In August 2020, she became the first woman to lead the Gender, Human and Social Development portfolio at the Central African regional bloc, ECCAS. She also worked at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the US State Department in Washington.

This article was initially published in French by Boaz Kabeya (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho