Chérubin Okende Senga (5 October 1961 – 13 July 2023) was a

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

politician of . He served as Minister of Transport and Communication from 2021 to 2022. He also served as technical administrator of Lignes Aériennes Congolaises.

Biography

Born on 5 October 1961, Okende grew up in the

Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. Sankuru ...

province and was a polyglot, speaking fluent Swahili, Lingala, Kikongo, French, and English. He graduated from the Institut supérieur de statistique in 1989. He also earned a master's degree from the

University of Kinshasa The University of Kinshasa (), colloquially known by its acronym UNIKIN, is a public university located in Kinshasa's Lemba, Kinshasa, Lemba commune within the western region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's premier un ...

in 2013, and subsequently a doctorate in public law from the same university in 2016. From 1989 to 1999, Okende was head of service at the local production department of the Office congolais de contrôle (OCC). From 1992 to 2005, he was secretary-general of the Syndicat autonome des travailleurs of the OCC. He served as national president of the Confédération générale de syndicat autonome from 2003 to 2005 before serving as technical administrative director of the Fond de Promotion de l’Industrie from 2005 to 2008, for which he served as interim administrative director-general from 2010 to 2012. Okende worked as an internal auditor for the OCC from 2012 to 2014. He finally left the OCC in 2019 after directing the hydrocarbons department.

Political career

From 1999 to 2006, Okende was national vice-president of the Société civile du Congo. At the same time, he was civil society delegate for intra-Congolese dialogue in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He served in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 2003 to 2005 before becoming national chair of the Front social des indépendants républicains in 2006. From 2019 to 2020, he was spokesperson for the after his return to the National Assembly on 30 December 2018. On 12 April 2021, he was appointed Minister of Transport and Communication. In December 2022,

Moïse Katumbi Moïse Katumbi Chapwe (; born 28 December 1964) is a Congolese businessman and politician. He leads the Together for the Republic party. He was Governor of Katanga Province, located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fro ...

announced his candidacy for the 2023 presidential election and the departure of the party Ensemble pour la République from the Lamuka Coalition. Close to Katumbi, Okende left the

Lukonde cabinet The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sama Lukonde was appointed on 15 February 2021. He announced his first cabinet on 12 April 2021. On 24 March 2023, a second cabinet was announced. First cabinet The members of the first ...

Assassination

On 13 July 2023, Okende was found dead in his car with gunshot wounds in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. The Congolese government denounced his assassination, with the President,

Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has served as the fifth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 2019. He was the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Demo ...

, releasing a statement saying he had requested authorities to open an investigation into the "despicable act". Katumbi described Okende's death as a "political assassination" and that he believed he had been kidnapped the day before his death. Okende's family subsequently filed a complaint with the Kinshasa-Gombe prosecutor against Okende's "arbitrary arrest and murder". In February 2024, the Attorney General of the Court of Cassation of Kinshasa announced that Cherubin Okende had committed suicide. In April 2024, the family of Chérubin Okende filed a complaint “against unknown persons”; the family contested the theory of suicide put forward by the prosecution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okende Senga, Cherubin 1961 births 2023 deaths Government ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Members of the National Assembly (Democratic Republic of the Congo) University of Kinshasa alumni People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Deaths by firearm in the Democratic Republic of the Congo