Bobi Ladawa Mobutu (born 2 September 1945) is the second wife and widow of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled Zaire (now the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

) as president between 1965 and 1997. She was born at Dula in the western province of Équateur and attended a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

convent school in the capital Kinshasa before embarking on a teaching career. In the 1970s, she became the mistress of President Mobutu. She bore his children before his first wife, Marie-Antoinette, died in 1977. She married Mobutu in both church and civil ceremonies on 1 May 1980, on the eve of a visit by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. The pope refused Mobutu's request to officiate over the ceremony. The couple had a total of four children — three sons, Gyala, Ndokula, and Nzanga, and a daughter, Toku. Bobi Ladawa, who was customarily addressed as "Citizen Bobi" or "Mama Bobi", frequently accompanied her husband abroad. She promoted issues such as health, education and women's rights. She was also reportedly deeply involved in the extravagant corruption that characterised Mobutu's rule. In 1996, a government minister who feared that he was about to be sacked in an upcoming cabinet reshuffle flew to Mobutu's palace at

Gbadolite Gbadolite or Gbado-Lite (pronounced ) is the capital of Nord-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is located south of the Ubangi River at the border to the Central African Republic and northeast of the national capi ...

to visit the president and his family, carrying a million US dollars in his briefcase as a gift for Bobi Ladawa. When the reshuffle came, he was promoted to deputy prime minister. Mobutu was overthrown in May 1997 and fled into a luxurious exile, eased by the billions of US dollars that he had embezzled during his rule. Bobi Ladawa accompanied him to his eventual final place of exile in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, and was at his bedside when he died from prostate cancer in September 1997. She remains in exile with her twin sister Kosia, and reportedly divides her time between Rabat, where Mobutu is buried,

Faro, Portugal Faro ( , ) is a municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 60,995 inhabitants in 2019 (with 39,733 inhabitants in the city proper, ...

, where the sisters own properties, and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobutu, Bobi Ladawa 1945 births Democratic Republic of the Congo women Living people People from Nord-Ubangi First Ladies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Roman Catholics Mobutu Sese Seko 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people