Léon Kengo wa Dondo (born Leon Lubicz; 22 May 1935) is 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 who served as the "first state commissioner" (a title equivalent to prime minister) several times under

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

Zaïre Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. He was one of the most powerful figures in the regime and was a strong advocate of

economic globalization Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural globalization, as well as the general term of globalization. Econ ...

and

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

economics. He served as President of the

Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Senate ( French: ''Sénat'') is the upper house of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The senate was established in 1960, abolished in 1967 and re-established in 2003. During the transition period in the Democratic R ...

from 2007 to 2019.

Early life

Kengo was born in

Libenge Libenge is a town in Sud-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Congolese politician Léon Kengo was born in this town in 1935. Transport The town is served by Libenge Airport Libenge Airport is an airport servi ...

, Équateur province,

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

(later Zaire and now Democratic Republic of Congo). He is the son of a Polish Jewish father, Michał Lubicz, and a Rwandan

Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

mother. He changed his name to Kengo wa Dondo in 1971 during Mobutu's

Africanization Africanization or Africanisation (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as indigenization. Africanization ...

('' Authenticité'') campaign.

Career

On 11 April 1968, Kengo was appointed Procureur Général of the Kinshasa Court of Appeal. On 14 August he was promoted to Procureur Général of the Supreme Court of Justice of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. In 1974 a new constitution was promulgated that changed the Congo's name to

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

and concentrated the government's authority in

as president. Kengo, as one of the country's senior-most magistrates, supported the independence of the judiciary and, despite Mobutu's centralisation, interpreted the document as only veiling such autonomy, not eliminating it. He argued that the Judicial Council of the

Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution The Popular Movement of the Revolution (, abbr. MPR) was the ruling political party in Zaire (known for part of its existence as the Democratic Republic of the Congo). For most of its existence, it was the only legally permitted party in the ...

, the state party, was the most independent branch in comparison to its counterparts. He also said that a magistrate's prerogative to construe law was "a breach in the plenary powers exercised by the President."

Prime Minister of Mobutu

After serving as his country's ambassador to Belgium, Kengo served as prime minister for the first time from 1982 to 1986, appointing able technocrats to important positions, such as Munga Mibindo, President Delegate General of the National Electrical Utility. He then served as

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

from 1986 to 1987 and as prime minister again from 1988 to 1990. During the early 1990s Mobutu allowed a transitional parliament to be set up, and Kengo was chosen prime minister by it in 1994 as a candidate in an attempt to neutralise the challenge from the popular opposition politician

Étienne Tshisekedi Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba also Known as Tshisekedi The Father (14 December 1932 – 1 February 2017) was a Congolese politician and the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), formerly the main opposition political pa ...

. He expelled members of the Lebanese community from Zaire for alleged involvement in the illegal trade of

conflict diamond Blood diamonds (also called conflict diamonds, brown diamonds, hot diamonds, or red diamonds) are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord's activity. The term is u ...

s, though the credibility of such actions is perhaps challenged by the fact that trade in conflict diamonds from Angola had long been essential to the survival of the Mobutu regime, in which Kengo had been such an important figure. Shortly after the beginning of the Congo civil war, in December 1996, Kengo became the leader of a crisis cabinet which sought to defeat the rebellion of

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 ...

. He was undermined by many Mobutu supporters because of his Tutsi origins, as Kabila's rebels were allied with the Tutsi governments of

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

and

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. As Kabila's armies advanced through the country, Kengo was also criticized for not conducting the war very well. He announced his resignation in March 1997 and left office in April 1997. The Mobutu government fell a month later, and Kengo retired from politics. In 2003, he was charged with money laundering in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

President of the Senate of Congo

Charles Mwando Nsimba addressing the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following his return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kengo backed

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a Congolese politician and former rebel leader. He currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication, Transportation and Channels of Communicat ...

in the 2006 presidential election; Bemba was defeated by President

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...

in the second round of the election."RDCongo: élection surprise d'un ancien mobutiste à la tête du Sénat"
Agence France-Presse, 11 May 2007. Kengo was then elected as a Senator from

Équateur province Équateur, French for equator, may refer to: Places * Province of Équateur, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2015 * Équateur (former province), a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1966–2015 * � ...

in January 2007."DRC : Opponent elected Senate president"
African Press Agency, 11 May 2007. On 11 May 2007, Kengo was somewhat unexpectedly elected as

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of 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 ...

, defeating

Léonard She Okitundu Léonard She Okitundu Lundula (born 8 March 1946) is a Congolese diplomat who has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and one of the Vice Prime Ministers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since December ...

, the candidate of the majority coalition, the

Alliance of the Presidential Majority The Alliance of the Presidential Majority (; AMP), commonly shortened to the Presidential Majority, was the ruling political alliance in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2006 to 2018. It was formed on 24 June 2006 by then President Joseph Kabi ...

. Kengo, who was an independent candidate, took 55 votes against 49 for Okitundu. On December 31, 2011, Léon Kengo was attacked by Congolese activists in front of the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, France. On 21 January 2015 during the

2015 Congolese protests On 19 January 2015, protests led by students at the University of Kinshasa broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The protests began following the announcement of a proposed law that would allow the country's 43-year-old president, Jos ...

he met with American, Belgian, British and French diplomats who urged him to either suspend debate and voting on the election modifying law or to remove its controversial provisions. He served as Senate president until 5 April 2019.

Citations

References