Évariste Kimba
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Évariste Leon Kimba Mutombo (16 July 1926 – 2 June 1966) was a Congolese journalist and politician who served as Foreign Minister of the
State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...
from 1960 to 1963 and
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of 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 ...
from 13 October to 25 November 1965. Kimba was born in 1926 in
Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
,
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. Following the completion of his studies he worked as a journalist and became editor-in-chief of the ''Essor du Congo''. In 1958 he and a group of Katangese concerned about domination of their province by people from the neighbouring
Kasaï region The Kasai region is a region in the central southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It shares its name with the Kasai River. After the independence of Congo in 1960, Kasai seceded for a while under influence of Belgium and became a ...
founded the Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT), a regionalist political party. In 1960 the Congo became independent and shortly thereafter
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 ...
declared the secession of the
State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...
. Kimba played an active role in the separatist state's government as its Minister of Foreign Affairs and participated in numerous talks with the central government aimed at political reconciliation. Following the collapse of the secession in early 1963, Kimba had a falling out with Tshombe and took up several ministerial posts in the new province of South Katanga. Tshombe was later made Prime Minister of the Congo while Kimba joined the
Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga The General Association of the Baluba of the Katanga Province, Katanga (, BALUBAKAT) was a political party in the Belgian Congo, in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its leader and president was Jason Sendwe, who was born to a Baluba ...
(BALUBAKAT) party. On 13 October 1965
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 ful ...
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 (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965. A member of the Kong ...
dismissed Tshombe and appointed Kimba Prime Minister. Kimba formed a
government of national unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
and spent the following weeks attempting to achieve
rapprochement In international relations, a rapprochement, which comes from the French word ''rapprocher'' ("to bring together"), is a re-establishment of cordial relations between two countries. This may be done due to a mutual enemy, as was the case with Germ ...
between the Congo and other African states. However, his government failed to obtain a
vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
from
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, though Kasa-Vubu reappointed Kimba to the premiership in the face of determined opposition from Tshombe's supporters. On 25 November Army Commander-in-Chief
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 ...
launched a coup removing both him and Kasa-Vubu from power and assumed control of the presidency. In May 1966 Mobutu's government accused Kimba of plotting with three other former government ministers to launch a coup. He was executed on 2 June for treason.


Early life

Évariste Kimba was born on 16 July 1926 in the village of Nsaka, Bukama Territory,
Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
,
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
. Ethnically, he was a member of
Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire * Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...
tribe. His father was a railway worker. He spent much of his youth in
Élisabethville Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
, where he attended Roman Catholic schools. After receiving a basic primary and middle education Kimba, like his father, worked on the railroad, but continued his studies, taking night classes at St. Boniface Institute in sociology, law, and
political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
. He also played on the school's football team. Kimba took up journalism in 1954 when he began writing for the ''Essor du Congo'' in Élisabethville, a conservative, pro-colonial newspaper which covered Katangese affairs. Later that year he became the publication's
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
, and held the position until 1960. In 1960 he acted as vice president of the Association of the Congolese Press. He married a woman, Bernadette, and had four children with her. In 1958 Kimba attended
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...
in Belgium. The following year he traveled abroad, visiting
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
,
Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
,
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
, Senegal, the United States, Canada, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Ivory Coast,
French Cameroon French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under Germ ...
,
French Congo The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, ...
, Chad, and French Madagascar.


Political career


Early activities

In February 1957 Kimba and a group of other young Katangese concerned about domination of their province by people from the neighbouring
Kasaï region The Kasai region is a region in the central southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It shares its name with the Kasai River. After the independence of Congo in 1960, Kasai seceded for a while under influence of Belgium and became a ...
met to discuss the political future of Katanga. In 1958 they founded the Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT), a regionalist political party. In the spring of 1960
Walter Ganshof van der Meersch Walter Jean Ganshof van der Meersch (18 May 1900 – 12 September 1993) was a Belgian jurist and lawyer. He competed in the four-man bobsledding event at the 1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olymp ...
was appointed the Belgian Minister of African Affairs and sent to the Congo to oversee its transition to independence. Ganshof made Kimba his assistant chief of staff. On 12 June the Provincial Assembly of Katanga elected him to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
on a non-customary CONAKAT list. On 16 June the Katangese provincial government was formed and Kimba was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry. The
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
became independent on 30 June.


Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Katanga

On 11 July 1960 Katangese Provincial President
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 ...
declared the secession of the "
State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...
". This was opposed by the regional Luba-dominated party, the
Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga The General Association of the Baluba of the Katanga Province, Katanga (, BALUBAKAT) was a political party in the Belgian Congo, in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its leader and president was Jason Sendwe, who was born to a Baluba ...
(BALUBAKAT), but Kimba allied himself with Tshombe and maintained that the Katangese Baluba belonged to the Katangese "nation". Tshombe made Kimba Katanga's Minister of Foreign Affairs. In December he accompanied Tshombe to a conference with leaders of the national Congolese government in
Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...
to discuss political reconciliation. The talks dissolved without any tangible progress being achieved. Though the role of the full Katangese government diminished over time under Tshombe's leadership, Kimba still actively met with Tshombe and held press conferences. In April 1961 Kimba and Tshombe went to
Coquilhatville Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Province ...
for further talks with the central government on political reconciliation and revising the Congolese constitution. Unhappy with the conference, Tshombe attempted to leave on 26 April, but he and Kimba were arrested and imprisoned for six weeks. They were released on 22 June and allowed to return to Katanga. In exchange for their liberation, the two men signed an agreement with the Congolese government declaring that representatives from Katangese constituencies would appear in the next session of Parliament. They later repudiated the agreement. In March and May 1962 the Katangese government held further talks with the central government in
Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
, the Congolese capital. While Tshombe was gone, Kimba went on a tour of Luba areas in Katanga to rally their favour in support of the secession. On 18 May the last round of the Léopoldville negotiations was due to take place, but Tshombe, stalling for time, stayed in Katanga and sent Kimba in his place. Under military pressure from the
United Nations Operation in the Congo The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...
, Tshombe declared the end of the Katangese secession in January 1963; on 19 January he received UN officials at his residence and, in the presence of Kimba and some of his other ministers, declared that he would accept the UN's terms for Katanga's reintegration into the Congo.


Break from Tshombe

In the aftermath of the secession, Kimba had a falling out with Tshombe; Kimba preferred reconciliation with the central government, but Tshombe did not wish it at the time. Tshombe went to
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, while in February 1963 Kimba became Minister of Education of the new province of South Katanga. From April until August he served as the province's Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of Information. In June he went to Léopoldville, to reach an understanding with the central government. In September he attended a conference of moderate political parties in Luluabourg as an observer. On 18 September Kimba went to Europe for "health reasons". He returned to the Congo in January 1964. On 13 December he was elected president of the central committee of the Entente Muluba, an Élisabethville-based organisation. That year Tshombe was welcomed back into the country and made Prime Minister at the helm of a transitional government tasked with suppressing a leftist insurrection in the eastern Congo. After this was largely accomplished,
general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
took place in 1965 and Tshombe's new coalition organisation, the Convention Nationale Congolaise (CONACO) won a majority of the seats in Parliament. Kimba also contested in the election for a seat in 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 Bourbon R ...
, and won on a BALUBAKAT list. Afterwards he took a brief trip to Paris. Shortly before Parliament was due to reopen, the strength of CONACO faltered, and an anti-Tshombe coalition, the Front Democratique Congolais (FDC), was formed. Kimba joined it in October.


Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the months following the elections, the political rivalry between Tshombe and the President of the Congo,
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 (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965. A member of the Kong ...
, grew increasingly tense. At the first session of the new Parliament on 13 October 1965, Kasa-Vubu unexpectedly announced that Tshombe's transitional government had fulfilled its purpose. He named Kimba the new Prime Minister and tasked him with forming a
government of national unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...
. Kimba had little personal following or national reputation and thus was considered inoffensive to members of Parliament and of little threat to Kasa-Vubu's ambitions. Kasa-Vubu also hoped that by appointing another Katangese to the post, he would avoid aggravating persisting secessionist sentiment in Katanga. Kimba's government was installed on 18 October, representing 16 of the 39 political parties with members in Parliament. Kimba's government was more nationalistic than Tshombe's administration and aimed to curb Western influence in Congolese affairs; it was markedly less amicable towards Belgian interests. The new cabinet sought to improve the Congo's relations with active countries in the
Organisation 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 ...
including Ethiopia and Ghana, and to distance itself from the members of the African and Malagasy Common Organisation. The government opened negotiations with
Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, and on 5 November Kimba announced that in its first step towards rehabilitating the Congo's ties with African states his government was renewing ferry traffic across the
Congo river The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
between Brazzaville and Léopoldville, which had been suspended for two years. The following day he formally reestablished diplomatic relations with Congo-Brazzaville. He also reopened the Congo-Uganda border, which had been closed since February. Kimba revised the composition of his government on 8 November. Tshombe's removal from power angered his supporters, and in the following weeks they competed with anti-Tshombe partisans for dominance in Parliament. On 14 November the Kimba Government was presented to the legislature for a formal
vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
. It was defeated, 72 to 76 in the Chamber of Deputies and 49 to 58 in the Senate. The next day Kasa-Vubu renominated Kimba as Prime Minister, resulting in a political deadlock. On 25 November, Army Commander-in-Chief
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 ...
, who had previously supported Kimba, launched a coup removing both him and Kasa-Vubu from power and assumed control of the presidency. Colonel
Léonard Mulamba Major-General Léonard Mulamba (1928 – 12 August 1986), subsequently Zairianised as Mulamba Nyunyi wa Kadima, was a military and political leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Biography Then-Colonel Mulamba was Chief of Staff of ...
was appointed to replace Kimba.


Arrest and death

In May 1966 Kimba and former government ministers Jérôme Anany, Emmanuel Bamba, and Alexandre Mahamba were arrested by Mobutu's security forces while attending a meeting with military officials. They were taken to a military camp and tortured. Mobutu's regime accused them of plotting to assassinate Mobutu and Prime Minister Mulamba and overthrow the government. On 30 May the four men were tried before a
military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...
. The trial lasted an hour and a half and the accused were allowed no legal counsel. They pleaded innocence, claiming that they had been working at the behest of officers in the army. After deliberating for seven minutes, the three military judges found the four men guilty of treason and sentenced them to death. This was in violation of standing Congolese law, which did not consider plotting a coup to be a capital crime. On 2 June 1966, Kimba and the other men were publicly hanged in Léopoldville before a large crowd. This was the first public execution in the Congo since the 1930s. Kimba was the first of the four to be executed; it took him 20 minutes to die after being dropped. His family never received his body. Kimba was the second former Prime Minister of the Congo to be killed after
Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 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 of the Congo) from June u ...
. Some time after Kimba's death, the Avenue des Chutes in Lubumbashi (formerly Élisabethville) was officially renamed in his honour, though the street is still usually referred to by its original name. In 2011 a congress of the "Luba People" declared that Kimba was among "our valiant martyrs".


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimba, Evariste Prime Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo People of the Congo Crisis People of the State of Katanga 1926 births 1966 deaths People executed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo by hanging People executed for treason against the Democratic Republic of the Congo 20th-century executions by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Executed prime ministers Members of the Senate (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Members of the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Government ministers of the State of Katanga