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Cléophas Kamitatu Massamba (10 June 1931 – 12 October 2008) was a Congolese politician and leader of the '' Parti Solidaire Africain''.


Biography

Cléophas Kamitatu was born on 10 June 1931 in Kilombo-Masi, Masi-Manimba Territory,
Kwilu Province Kwilu is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwilu, Kwango, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Kwi ...
,
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
. He underwent six years of primary studies in Muniangi-Kinzambi and learned Latin humanities at a Jesuit school in Kinzambi. He then spent three years in novitate at the Compagnie de Jésus, studying philosophy. He left and took up an internship at a daily newspaper, ''Le Courrier d'Afrique''. In 1953 he became a clerk in the territorial service. Three years later he was made president of the Kwilu chapter of the Association des anciens élèves des Pères jésuites (Assap). In 1958 he became an activist for the Union des travailleurs congolais (UTC) in
Kikwit Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 ( ...
.


Political career

In 1958 Kamitatu helped establish the '' Parti Solidaire Africain'' (PSA) with Antoine Gizenga. He represented the party's rural membership and its
Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...
constituents. His leadership of the moderates in the PSA led to differences with Gizenga, who was more left-leaning. He frequently allied with the '' Alliance des Bakongo'' (ABAKO), a political party with a large following in the capital, where he focused most of his political efforts. Kamitatu led the PSA's delegation to the Congolese Round Table Conference in early 1960 to discuss the Congo's political future. He was the first delegate to suggest that the colony be granted independence on 30 June, a stance which was quickly assumed by others and eventually carried out. In June he was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, and also became the President of Léopoldville Province, in part due to his support from ABAKO. Kamitatu hoped to overhaul the local economy by altering traditional agricultural practices and tightening tax collection, though these proposals were not well received in the Kwilu region. In September Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu deposed Prime Minister
Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...
and created his own government. In spite of pressure from Mobutu and President
Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the Republic of the Congo until 1964) from 1960 until 1965. A member of ...
, Kamitatu remained loyal to Lumumba. Meanwhile the colonel's soldiers patrolled the streets in the capital with force. Kamitatu protested their activities and accused them of committing rape and violence against local citizens, threatening to lead his province into secession. On the night of 7 November 30 soldiers attempted to seize various government buildings in Léopoldville, but were arrested. Their officers escaped and the following morning Mobutu accused Kamitatu, responsible for the provincial police, of plotting against him. Two days later Kamitatu was arrested. Following negotiations on the handling of the police and a promise to improve relations with the army, he was released. In March 1961 Kamitatu was sent to Stanleyville to negotiate on behalf of the central government with Gizenga's rival state, the Free Republic of the Congo. After Gizenga was arrested in January 1962 for his rebellious activities Kamitatu emerged as the sole leader of the PSA. In July 1962 he was appointed Minister of the Interior, replacing
Christophe Gbenye Christophe Gbenye ( 1927 – 3 February 2015) was a Congolese politician, trade unionist, and rebel who, along with Gaston Soumialot, led the Simba rebellion, an anti-government insurrection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the C ...
, and in April 1963 he became Minister of Planning and Development, a position he held until 1964. He briefly served as Foreign Minister under
Évariste Kimba Évariste Leon Kimba Mutombo (16 July 1926 – 2 June 1966), better known as Évariste Kimba, was a Congolese journalist and politician who served as Foreign Minister of the State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and Prime Minister of the Democrati ...
's short-lived government until Mobutu seized power definitively in November 1965. On 18 June 1966 a special tribunal sentenced Kamitatu to five years in prison for complicity in a supposed plot to kill Mobutu. He soon fled the country and formed the ''Front Socialiste Africain'' (FSA) as an opposition group to the government. He later wrote a highly critical biography of Mobutu entitled, ''La grande mystification au Congo-Kinshasa''. In 1983, Mobutu offered general
amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...
to exiled opponents and Kamitatu returned to the Congo. He made an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the legislature in 1988, but was soon thereafter appointed minister of agriculture and made a member of the central committee of Mobutu's party, the '' Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution'' (MPR). As the country underwent
democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...
in the early 1990s, Kamitatu became a top member of Joseph Ileo's '' Parti démocrate et social chrétien'' (PDSC). Ileo died in 1994 and Kamitatu had a falling out with the party's leadership, leading him to create a splinter wing of the party the following year. He retired from politics in the late 1990s. He died of a disease in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
on 12 October 2008. Kamitatu is remembered in the Congo as one of the "fathers of independence".


Family

Kamitatu was married to politician Marie-José Mafuta Mingi. They had a son named Olivier Kamitatu Etsu, another politician.


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamitatu, Cleophas 1931 births 2008 deaths Popular Movement of the Revolution politicians Democratic Republic of the Congo exiles Members of the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ministers of foreign affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Governors of provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo People from Kwilu Province People of the Congo Crisis Governors of Léopoldville Province 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people