 The colonial government in the Congo depended on its military to maintain civil order and , above all , it depended on the loyalty of the native troops who made up the bulk of the Force Publique . Black non @-@ commissioned Officers led by First Sergeant @-@ Major <unk> <unk> , a veteran of the East Africa Campaign , <unk> at Luluabourg in the central Congolese province of Kasaï in February 1944 ; the trigger for this was a plan to vaccinate troops who had served at the front , though the soldiers were also unhappy about the demands placed on them and their treatment by their white officers . 
