Recently, an extremely suspicious fire broke out at a government depot in Kinshasa and destroyed election materials and, reportedly, around 8,000 electronic voting machines. I fear this fire might be used as a pretext for delaying the elections.

Violence continues — and is worsening — across Congo because impunity for those in power has led to the destruction of the rule of law. Congo is extremely rich in cobalt, which is essential to the production of highly valued lithium batteries. Cobalt is often mined by young Congolese working in unsafe locations and generally shipped to Asia, where it is used for the production of high-tech products. President Kabila’s family is deeply involved in this pillaging of Congo based on the most extreme exploitation of Congolese labor.

Congo remains one of the world’s poorest countries: the infant mortality rate in my country is among the worst in the world — almost every tenth child born in the country dies before she is five. Indicators of health, nutrition, and education are equally grim.

My country has already paid an immense human cost since war began in 1996 with over 4 million people displaced within the country and around 6 million dead. Hundreds of thousands of women have suffered almost unimaginable sexual violence. The perpetrators have often been powerful local leaders and their henchmen, whose positions make them immune from prosecution.

I fear that we are slowly sliding back into the horror of the late 1990s, with increased militia activity and abuses including sexual violence. Though the war officially ended in 2001, it has never ceased in eastern Congo, where I live and work. Today I see more and more militia groups engaging in increasingly brutal activities in eastern Congo and elsewhere. I am seeing an increasing number of rapes of girls and women in villages in my region.

The conflict has contributed to a growing incidence of cholera, which is easily preventable when health services are functional and unhampered by the current crisis. Millions of Congolese are displaced, with little hope. Mr. Kabila’s government has not only ignored these crises but has also too often aided the perpetrators. His government does not bring stability; it foments instability.

For two decades, I have been working as a doctor with a dedicated team of colleagues to heal victims of this ceaseless violence in my country. I realized years ago that these problems could not be solved in the operating room, but that we had to combat the root causes of these atrocities. The way forward is for the Congolese people to freely elect their leaders at every level, from the local mayor to the president. But Mr. Kabila intends the opposite result.