Depicts an official emblem of the Laurent Kabila regime: a mature male lion standing to the left amid the grass, symbolizing strength and authority. Above the lion is the country’s name in French, and the denomination is placed below. Date of the issue appears in the middle.

Kabila’s regime, which began in 1997 after he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, was characterized by efforts to rebuild the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) after decades of dictatorship. His government sought to restore national sovereignty, but faced internal conflict and external pressures, particularly during the Second Congo War.

Depicts a portrait of Pope John Paul II turned slightly to the right in a prayerful pose, dressed in a cassock and mitre and holding a papal ferula. Surrounding the portrait is an inscription of the occasion in French, with his birth and death dates, and his title vertically on the right side of the ferula in French.