Kongulu Mobutu also known as Kongolo Mobutu (c. 1970 – September 24, 1998) was a son of
Mobutu Sese Seko, President of
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, ...
(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 ...
), and an officer in 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 ...
(DSP).
Biography
Early life
Kongulu (also known as Kongolo) was one of the twenty-one children of President Mobutu Sese Seko. His mother was the President's first wife
Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene, who died in 1977. He was described as "a stocky, bearded man with a taste for fast cars, gambling and women."
Despotic activity
Kongulo Mobutu was a Captain in the DSP. When he left The School for Officers Training (EFO) in Kananga, he started his career as Second Lieutenant in The Military Service for Action and Intelligence (SARM). As Captain, he was Personal Secretary of General Bolozi in SARM. He was General Bolozi's protegee. Bolozi is married to Kongulu's aunt. Kongulu was a key enforcer in the final years of his father's
despotic
Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect an ...
regime; his brutal treatment of political opponents earned him the nickname "
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
".
In his childhood at
Camp Tshatshi, Kongulu was nicknamed "Gange". When he was about to finish his matric, his entourage nicknamed him "Vatican" as a state within a state. He did not like it. After an incident which put in him in trouble with his father about
money laundering, he fled to
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
and the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. President Mobutu sent a team of his guards to take Kongulu back home. They unsuccessfully returned home. From that short exile, Kongulu took the nickname of Saddam Hussein.
Business activity
Kongulu Mobutu was in charge of various businesses in Zaire, including shipping and import firms, entertainment Yoshad Productions. He exercised a strong influence onto the popular musical band Wenge Musica BCBG of Werrason, Jb Mpiana, Didier Masela. He reconciled Koffi Olomide and Jossart Nyoka Nlongo after a feud. According to a former employee, quoted in a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
report, one of his companies, Hyochade, acted as a front for
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
, state
propaganda and surveillance of political opponents. The German
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
network's investigative program ''Kennzeichen D'' has claimed that Kongulu participated in the siphoning off of the national wealth by helping to organize the secret movement of gold to
Gambia during the 1990s.
Flight from revolution
In April 1997, as forces led by
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinatio ...
advanced towards Zaire's capital,
Kinshasa, it is alleged that Kongulu Mobutu compiled a list of 500 of his father's opponents who were to be assassinated. When troops entered the city on May 17, Defense Minister, General
Donatien Mahele Lieko Bokungu
Donatien "Marc" Mahele Lieko Bokungu (April 14, 1941 – May 16, 1997) was a prominent Zairean general who served as the last army chief during the long reign of Mobutu Sese Seko. tried to negotiate and was shot dead; it has been claimed that Kongulu had a role in his killing at Camp Tshashi.
Kongulu will be later clear of these accusations.
It is revealed that Kongulu was the one who came to cover General Mahele's body. He came after the action and senior Commanders of the DSP were present during assassination. Kongulu had no influence on DSP soldiers. He was the last most famous person of Mobutu's regime to leave
Kinshasa on May 17, 1997, after he tried unsuccessfully to defend his father's rule (he commanded his father's bodyguards to the frontline).
Kongulu fled across the border to
Brazzaville later that day while rebels were almost 10 km away from the beach. His house was ransacked by soldiers and civilians.
Family
Kongulu was married to Dany Kanyeba Nyembwe and had children together. They lived in
Kinshasa.
Death
Kongulu Mobutu died in exile in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
on September 24, 1998, aged 28 (a year after he attended his father's funeral at Rabat, Morocco).
Former
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
journalist
Michela Wrong
Michela Wrong (born 1961) is a British people, British journalist and author who has spent more than two decades writing about Africa. Her postings as a journalist began in Europe and then West, Central and East Africa. She has worked for Reuter ...
has written that he and his brother Nyiwa died of
AIDS.
[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mobutu, Kongulu
1970 births
1998 deaths
Ngbandi people
Democratic Republic of the Congo exiles
Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriates in Monaco
AIDS-related deaths in Monaco
Year of birth uncertain
Children of national leaders
Mobutu Sese Seko