Mobutu Sese Seko was the president of the Republic of Zaire. He was one of the many dictators in the African continent who stood out from the rest due to his abilities of political manipulations, managing to be friendly with the west, lavish lifestyle and longevity of rule. He called himself by this lengthy name: Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga, meaning, the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, goes from conquest to conquest, leaving fire in his wake.
Mobutu’s education was in a Catholic mission boarding school. A physically imposing figure, he dominated school sports. He also excelled in academics.
Mobutu once stowed away aboard a boat to his native town and met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later, and at the end of the school year he was sent to the Belgian Congolese army as a punishment where he had to serve for seven years.
Mobutu found discipline in army life. His interest for studies was kept up as he got to borrow European newspapers and books from the Belgian officers. He was often found reading them on sentry duty and whenever he had a spare moment. His favorites were the writings of French President Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. His appetite for reading and writing made him quit the army and become a full-time journalist.
As a journalist Mobutu got chances to travel across the length and breadth of the country. He met many of the young Congolese intellectuals who were challenging colonial rule.
Lumumba was the Prime Minister of the country and Mobutu became closer to the prime minister and eventually became Lumumba's personal aide, though several contemporaries indicate that Belgian intelligence had recruited Mobutu to be an informer by this point.
Mobutu was then appointed as Chief of Staff of the Army. Lumumba was inclined more towards the Soviet Union. He received massive military aid from them and appointed Soviet technical advisers to assist him in his administration. The communist influence irked Mobutu. As Army Chief of Staff, Mobutu came under great pressure from multiple sources. The embassies of Western nations, which helped pay the soldiers' salaries, as well as Mobutu's subordinates who wanted him to get rid of the Soviet presence.
Mobutu took control over the country in a CIA-sponsored coup. The Mobutu era started as he assumed absolute powers.
Facing many challenges early in his rule, Mobutu was able to turn most opposition into submission through patronage; those he could not, he dealt with forcefully.
By 1970, nearly all potential threats to his authority had been smashed, law and order was brought to nearly all parts of the country. That year marked the pinnacle of Mobutu's legitimacy and power.
As he consolidated power Mobutu set up several military forces whose sole purpose was to protect him. The country was renamed to the Republic of Zaire.
Africans were ordered to drop their Christian names for African ones, and priests were warned that they would face 5 years imprisonment if they were caught baptizing a Zairian child with a Christian name. Western attire and ties were banned, and men were forced on to ethnic wear.
Early in his rule, Mobutu consolidated power by publicly executing political rivals, coup plotters, and other threats to his rule. To set an example, many were hanged before large audiences. A favorite Mobutu tactic was to rotate members of his government, switching the cabinet roster constantly to ensure that no one would pose a threat to his rule.
Mobutu owned a fleet of luxury vehicles that he used to travel between his numerous palaces, while the nation's roads rotted and many of his people starved. Infrastructure virtually collapsed, and many public service workers went months without being paid. Most money was siphoned off to Mobutu, his family and top political and military leaders. Only the special Presidential Division - on whom his physical safety depended - was paid adequately or regularly.
Mobutu was known to charter a Concorde from Air France for personal use, including shopping trips to Paris for himself and his family. He had an airport constructed in his hometown with a runway long enough to accommodate the Concorde's extended take off and landing requirements.
In 1984 Mobutu had an estimated amount of USD 5 billion, most of it in Swiss banks.
Mobutu shared a good relation with many US presidents, Mobutu's relationship with the U.S. radically changed shortly afterwards with the end of the Cold War. With the Soviet Union gone, there was no longer any reason to support Mobutu as a barricade against communism. In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the United States after he sought to visit Washington D.C.
Mobutu had signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation between Zaire and Belgium. However, Mobutu tore up the treaty in 1974 in protest of Belgium's refusal to ban an anti-Mobutu book written by left-wing lawyer Jules Chomé.
Mobutu shared a cordial relationship with France. As the second largest French speaking country in the world and the largest one in Sub Saharan Africa, Zaire was of great strategic interest to France. There were many instances when France itself would send troops to aid Mobutu.
The downfall of Mobutu started when the elections were held in the country. Opposition parties during election called for Mobutu to resign. He responded by killing 100 student demonstrators at a university. This led to international outrage and uprisings throughout the country. The results were declared and Mobutu was defeated. He was unhappy with the results and he fired the new prime minister, which then outraged the west. Western countries demanded Mobutu honor the elected prime minister, which he refused.
This was the time for angered neighbors to besiege on Zaire. Rwanda planned an attack which it had been long waiting for to eliminate Hutu extremists who had been sheltered by Zaire. Rwanda had the support of Burundi and Uganda. Collectively they attacked Zaire. Ailing with cancer, Mobutu was unable to coordinate the resistance. Tutsis community had long opposed Mobutu, due to his open support for Rwandan Hutu extremists responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. Tutsis of Zaire also erupted in rebellion as they had been waiting to take revenge on Mobutu as his government had issued an order in November 1996 forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death. The troops attacking the capital Kinshasa and succeeded in capturing it and they renamed the country as Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mobutu went into temporary exile in Togo but lived mostly in Morocco. He then died of prostate cancer in Morocco.
Mobutu was the most corrupt African leader. By the time he was overthrown in 1997, Mobutu had stolen almost half of the $12bn in aid money that Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo - received from the IMF during his 32-year reign, leaving his country saddled with a crippling debt.
Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/
Mobutu’s education was in a Catholic mission boarding school. A physically imposing figure, he dominated school sports. He also excelled in academics.
Mobutu once stowed away aboard a boat to his native town and met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later, and at the end of the school year he was sent to the Belgian Congolese army as a punishment where he had to serve for seven years.
Mobutu found discipline in army life. His interest for studies was kept up as he got to borrow European newspapers and books from the Belgian officers. He was often found reading them on sentry duty and whenever he had a spare moment. His favorites were the writings of French President Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. His appetite for reading and writing made him quit the army and become a full-time journalist.
As a journalist Mobutu got chances to travel across the length and breadth of the country. He met many of the young Congolese intellectuals who were challenging colonial rule.
Lumumba was the Prime Minister of the country and Mobutu became closer to the prime minister and eventually became Lumumba's personal aide, though several contemporaries indicate that Belgian intelligence had recruited Mobutu to be an informer by this point.
Mobutu was then appointed as Chief of Staff of the Army. Lumumba was inclined more towards the Soviet Union. He received massive military aid from them and appointed Soviet technical advisers to assist him in his administration. The communist influence irked Mobutu. As Army Chief of Staff, Mobutu came under great pressure from multiple sources. The embassies of Western nations, which helped pay the soldiers' salaries, as well as Mobutu's subordinates who wanted him to get rid of the Soviet presence.
Mobutu took control over the country in a CIA-sponsored coup. The Mobutu era started as he assumed absolute powers.
Facing many challenges early in his rule, Mobutu was able to turn most opposition into submission through patronage; those he could not, he dealt with forcefully.
By 1970, nearly all potential threats to his authority had been smashed, law and order was brought to nearly all parts of the country. That year marked the pinnacle of Mobutu's legitimacy and power.
As he consolidated power Mobutu set up several military forces whose sole purpose was to protect him. The country was renamed to the Republic of Zaire.
Africans were ordered to drop their Christian names for African ones, and priests were warned that they would face 5 years imprisonment if they were caught baptizing a Zairian child with a Christian name. Western attire and ties were banned, and men were forced on to ethnic wear.
Early in his rule, Mobutu consolidated power by publicly executing political rivals, coup plotters, and other threats to his rule. To set an example, many were hanged before large audiences. A favorite Mobutu tactic was to rotate members of his government, switching the cabinet roster constantly to ensure that no one would pose a threat to his rule.
Mobutu owned a fleet of luxury vehicles that he used to travel between his numerous palaces, while the nation's roads rotted and many of his people starved. Infrastructure virtually collapsed, and many public service workers went months without being paid. Most money was siphoned off to Mobutu, his family and top political and military leaders. Only the special Presidential Division - on whom his physical safety depended - was paid adequately or regularly.
Mobutu was known to charter a Concorde from Air France for personal use, including shopping trips to Paris for himself and his family. He had an airport constructed in his hometown with a runway long enough to accommodate the Concorde's extended take off and landing requirements.
In 1984 Mobutu had an estimated amount of USD 5 billion, most of it in Swiss banks.
Mobutu shared a good relation with many US presidents, Mobutu's relationship with the U.S. radically changed shortly afterwards with the end of the Cold War. With the Soviet Union gone, there was no longer any reason to support Mobutu as a barricade against communism. In 1993, Mobutu was denied a visa by the United States after he sought to visit Washington D.C.
Mobutu had signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation between Zaire and Belgium. However, Mobutu tore up the treaty in 1974 in protest of Belgium's refusal to ban an anti-Mobutu book written by left-wing lawyer Jules Chomé.
Mobutu shared a cordial relationship with France. As the second largest French speaking country in the world and the largest one in Sub Saharan Africa, Zaire was of great strategic interest to France. There were many instances when France itself would send troops to aid Mobutu.
The downfall of Mobutu started when the elections were held in the country. Opposition parties during election called for Mobutu to resign. He responded by killing 100 student demonstrators at a university. This led to international outrage and uprisings throughout the country. The results were declared and Mobutu was defeated. He was unhappy with the results and he fired the new prime minister, which then outraged the west. Western countries demanded Mobutu honor the elected prime minister, which he refused.
This was the time for angered neighbors to besiege on Zaire. Rwanda planned an attack which it had been long waiting for to eliminate Hutu extremists who had been sheltered by Zaire. Rwanda had the support of Burundi and Uganda. Collectively they attacked Zaire. Ailing with cancer, Mobutu was unable to coordinate the resistance. Tutsis community had long opposed Mobutu, due to his open support for Rwandan Hutu extremists responsible for the Rwandan Genocide. Tutsis of Zaire also erupted in rebellion as they had been waiting to take revenge on Mobutu as his government had issued an order in November 1996 forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death. The troops attacking the capital Kinshasa and succeeded in capturing it and they renamed the country as Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mobutu went into temporary exile in Togo but lived mostly in Morocco. He then died of prostate cancer in Morocco.
Mobutu was the most corrupt African leader. By the time he was overthrown in 1997, Mobutu had stolen almost half of the $12bn in aid money that Zaire - now the Democratic Republic of Congo - received from the IMF during his 32-year reign, leaving his country saddled with a crippling debt.
Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/
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