Donatien "Marc" Mahele Lieko Bokungu (April 14, 1941 – May 16, 1997) was a prominent

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

who served as the last army chief during the long reign of Mobutu Sese Seko."Foes of Congo Leader Disrupt Funeral Service."
''New York Times'', June 13, 1997. Accessed on May 6, 2008.

Biography

Born in 1941, Mahele, a carpenter by trade,"Zaire: IRIN Briefing Part III, 02/27/97"
United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network. Accessed on June 9, 2008. was born in Mobutu's Équateur region, but unlike Mobutu, he was not from the Ngbandi tribe;Wrong, p. 283 he was a Mbuza. One of the few Zairian generals not related to Mobutu, he was unique in that he attained his rank on his own merits, rather than through political patronage. Trained in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, he was a member of Mobutu's bodyguard in the 1970s. He fought in the Shaba I conflict, and came to prominence during the

Shaba II Shaba II was a brief conflict fought in the Zairean province of Shaba (now Katanga) in 1978. The conflict broke out on 11 May 1978 after 6,500 rebels from the Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC), a Katangese separatist militia, crossed t ...

war. He distinguished himself during the Shaba wars through his discipline and good conduct. After Shaba II, he was promoted to general and given command of the ''Berets Rouge'' ( French: "Red Berets"). In 1990, led a contingent of the

Special Presidential Division The Special Presidential Division (DSP, after the original French Division Spéciale Présidentielle) was an elite military force created by Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko in 1985 and charged with his personal security. Called the Special Pr ...

that was sent to Rwanda to aid Mobutu's beleaguered ally,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...

. In the following year, he helped to put down riots, looting, and protests by mutinying soldiers and civilians in Kinshasa. Mahele, widely perceived as being incorruptible, won massive popularity with ordinary Zairians for his suppression of rioting by Mobutu's soldiers in the early 1990s; nevertheless, he was viewed less favorably by other Zairian generals, for the same reasons. He was an outspoken critic of governmental corruption in Zaire. Afterwards, he was nominated by Mobutu to be the army chief of staff, ranked as a

Général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

, but his outspoken belief that the military should be apolitical and accountable to the Zairian people did not sit well with the President, who immediately replaced him with another general. Mahele was assigned the essentially powerless title ''attache à la presidence'', and spent the next three years pursuing business opportunities and maintaining a low profile. Late in the First Congo War, he was pulled out of semi-retirement and appointed army chief of staff, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of National Defense and Veterans' Affairs and tasked with reforming the Zairian military and defeating

Laurent Kabila Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

's rebels. On the eve of Mobutu's overthrow, Mahele was killed by Mobutu loyalists"Hope and retribution in Zaire."
BBC News, May 24, 1997. Accessed on June 9, 2008. for trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender with Kabila, in order to prevent a final battle in the capital city, Kinshasa, and spare its people from the bloodshed that would have likely ensued."Kabila declares himself president of Zaire."
''CNN'', May 17, 1997. Accessed on May 6, 2008. Mobutu's son, Kongulu Mobutu, was suspected by some of being involved in Mahele's death, while others, including Kongulu's brother Nzanga, dispute this.Wrong, p. 286

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahele, Donatien 1941 births 1997 deaths People from Kinshasa Assassinated Democratic Republic of the Congo people Assassinated military personnel Deaths by firearm in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo military personnel People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997 murders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo