Yes there are two neighboring countries called Congo. On the Atlantic side there was a large, organized kingdom of the Kongo. The French and the Belgians literally raced (in their respective ships) to claim Kongo as a colony and the French won by just hours. They claimed most of the South Atlantic coastal region and the evil Belgian King Leopold scooped out the interior, initially calling it his own private possession. The former French Congo is in better shape by many accounts. Name confusion is understandable because the former Belgian Congo (The Democratic Republic of..) was changed to Zaire by the evil dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and changed back again after he was finally deposed (by another pretty much evil guy).

I love how you call three different dudes “evil” in a single paragraph.