The study analyses the cavernous gap between rhetoric and reality on the role and effectiveness of the Organization of African (OAU/AU) in conflict resolution in Africa focusing on the case of Democratic Republic of Congo from the period 1996 to 2008. The world in the 20^th and 21^st century has been mired in a range of conflict. In the case of Africa, the continent has been extremely vulnerable to outbreak of intra and inter-state conflicts, thus in countries such as the DRC there is ongoing conflicts and instability notwithstanding consistent regional and international efforts to consolidate peace. The article utilises Rupensighe’s Conflict Transformation Model and neo-liberal institutionalism theory. The major findings of this study include that despite the efforts by the AU for conflict resolution peace has remained unattainable in the DRC. The researchers also finds out that there was a need to analyses the causes of the DRC conflict that is the First Congo Civil Conflict, the Second Congo War and the Kivu Conflict, to come up with sustainable solutions, and suitable approach by the AU in terms of conflict resolution. The study concludes that as far as conflict resolution is concerned, the AU is nothing but a toothless bulldog, its performance can be characterized by modest success in a few cases and dismal failure in most cases. In line with the conclusion, this study recommends that the AU should focus on encouraging its member states to be committed in contributing enough funds to the organisations, so that it will be well equipped to deal with conflicts in the continent. Financial constraints should be addressed so that the AU will be effective in conflict resolution.