KAMPALA, Uganda—Congolese government security agents arecracking down on pro-democracy activists and sympathetic U.S. diplomats, raising concerns about the intentions of President Joseph Kabila who is due to relinquish control of a country with a history of heavy-handed rule.

Dozens of protesters gathered this week outside the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern city of Goma to protest against the detention of pro-democracy activists.

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In recent years, Mr. Kabila has depended on the United Nations’ 20,000-strong peacekeeping force to put down multiple rebellions in the eastern and southern mining heartlands, exposing weaknesses in the national army.

“The battle over Kabila’s succession is certain to be the leitmotif of Congolese politics over the coming two years,” Jason Stearns, a Congo expert and director of Nairobi-based think tank, Rift Valley Institute said.