The Kisangani mutinies, also known as the Stanleyville mutinies or Mercenaries' mutinies, occurred in 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 ...

in 1966 and 1967.

First mutiny

Amid rumours that the ousted Prime Minister

Moise Tshombe Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...

was plotting a comeback from his exile in Spain, some 2,000 of Tshombe's former Katangan gendarmes, led by mercenaries, mutinied in

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

(formerly Stanleyville) in July 1966. Lieutenant-Colonel

Joseph-Damien Tshatshi Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph-Damien Tshatshi Djamba was a Congolese military officer who was assassinated by rebels at Kisangani on 23 July 1966 during the Kisangani mutiny. Tshatshi began his military career in the Force Publique under Belgian ...

, the local military commander, was executed. The mutiny was unsuccessful and was crushed.

Second mutiny

Exactly a year after the failure of the first mutiny, another broke out, again in Kisangani, apparently triggered by the news that Tshombe's airplane had been hijacked over the Mediterranean and forced to land in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, where he was held prisoner. Led by a Belgian settler named

Jean Schramme Jean "Black Jack" Schramme (25 March 1929, Bruges, Belgium – 14 December 1988, Rondonópolis, Brazil) was a Belgian mercenary and planter. He managed a vast estate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 1967. Planter Schramme was born ...

and involving approximately 100 former Katangan gendarmes and about 1,000 Katangese, the mutineers held their ground against the 32,000-man

Armée Nationale Congolaise The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt pa ...

(ANC – the Congolese National Army) for four months until November 1967, when Schramme and his mercenaries crossed the border into

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and surrendered to the local authorities. On 4 November 1967, the ANC launched an all-out assault on the mercenaries' positions in

Bukavu Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pr ...

.Anthony Mockler, ''The New Mercenaries'', Corgi Books, 1985, 153–4, After a day of fighting, Schramme, his mercenaries and the Katangans retreated towards the bridge crossing into Rwanda. The next morning the rearguard crossed the bridge. Schramme and his followers were disarmed and interned by the Rwandan authorities.

Aftermath

In November 1967 President

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, presiden ...

requested that the Rwandan government allow for the extradition of 119 mercenaries. The Rwandan government refused, citing resolutions passed by the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

. In response, Mobutu severed relations between the Congo and Rwanda on 11 January 1968. After several months of talks, the mercenaries departed from Rwanda on 24 April, and relations between Rwanda and the Congo resumed in early 1969.

In popular culture

The Kisangani Mutinies are referenced in the hit single "

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a song composed by Warren Zevon and David Lindell and performed by Zevon. It was first released on Zevon's 1978 album ''Excitable Boy''. It was the last song he performed in front of an audience, on ''The ...

" by singer-songwriter

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

and former Congo mercenary David Lindell. It is also featured in the 1995 film ''Outbreak''. Both the 1966 and 1967 mutinies are featured in the 2011 film ''

Mister Bob Mister Bob is a 2011 French drama film directed and co-scripted by Thomas Vincent. Plot The film follows the exploits of the French mercenary Bob Denard in the Congo between 1964 and 1967. The story begins in July 1967 with Denard who has just s ...

''.

References

Works cited