Sese Seko Mobutu was one of the most corrupt dictators the world has ever seen. He robbed his country, one of the richest in terms of resources, on an unprecedented scale and left his people living in poverty. He was in control for a long time, but at the end of his reign, Congo (or Zaire as Mobutu had baptized his country) fell into political chaos, which would soon degenerate into a civil war.
Young Years
Sese Seko Mobutu, born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was born on October 14, 1930 in Lisala, Congo. He belonged to the Ngbandi ethnic group. Mobutu was educated at a Catholic mission school. He was expelled from that school because of a relationship with a girl and was forced to serve seven years in the Belgian colonial army. During this period he took a journalism course and started writing, under a pseudonym, in a new magazine: Actunigalités Africaine. In 1956 he quit the army and began to devote himself entirely to journalism for the newspaper L’avenir. In 1958 he went to Belgium to cover the World Exhibition and stayed for a while to delve further into journalism.
Lumumba
Mobutu had gotten to know most of the Congolese intellectuals during this period, including Patrice Lumumba, whom he befriended. He became a member of his Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). Some sources claim that the Belgians hired Mobutu in this role as a spy. In 1960, discussions were held in Brussels about the independence of Congo and the Americans tried to assess which of the Congolese delegation would be useful. Mobutu emerged as their man.
The Congo Crisis
On June 30, 1960, Congo became independent and Lumumba was the Prime Minister of the new state and Joseph Kasa-Vubu the President. However, the first crisis soon arose, the Congo crisis, in which the army mutinied because of the presence of Belgian officers. Lumumba appointed Mobutu as chief of staff of the army and in that capacity he traveled through Congo to return the soldiers to their barracks. Meanwhile, a crisis broke out in the south of the country, because that part of the country, rich in raw materials, wanted to secede under the influence of the Belgians. Lumumba feared that UN troops would be sent and turned to the Soviet Union for help. The Soviets provided this aid and this frightened the Americans, who were afraid of communist influences in Central Africa. Now Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu came into conflict, each ordering Mobutu to arrest the other. Mobutu now came under great pressure, eventually choosing against the Soviet Union. On September 14, 1960, Mobutu staged a coup, supported by the CIA. Lumumba was placed under house arrest and Kasa-Vubu remained as president. The Soviet advisors were sent home. Mobutu accused Lumumba of pro-communist sympathies in order to gain American support. He made good use of the tensions during the Cold War. Lumumba fled to Stanleyville, where he set up his own government, but was later arrested. In November 1960 he was captured and sent to Katanga. There, Lumumba was publicly beaten on January 17, 1961 and then disappeared. It later emerged that he had been murdered the same day. A few days later, Mobutu was promoted to major general. In 1964, rebels took action again, led by Pierre Mulele (the so-called Simba Rebellion), who soon overran a large part of Congo. But Mobutu struck back and regained the entire area in 1965.
Dictator Mobutu
In March 1965, elections were held in Congo, with Prime Minister Moise Tshombe winning a large majority. Kasa-Vubu, however, appointed Kimba, who was strongly opposed to Tshombe, as its candidate for prime minister. This caused a government crisis and Mobutu decided to stage another coup on November 25, 1965. In the following years, Mobutu ensured that he gained almost total power in Congo. Mobutu centralized Congo and pursued a very anti-political policy. Cynically, Mobutu made himself known in the country as ‘The Second National Hero’, after Lumumba. An authentic Congolese nationalism was strived for. In 1967, the Mouvement Populair de la Révolution (MPR) was founded, which would remain the only active party in Congo until 1990. One of the slogans of the movement was ‘not left, not right’, to which later even ‘and not in the center’ could be added. Mobutu tried to control everyone in the country, but when that didn’t work he used violence. By 1970 he had firm control over virtually the entire country and was at the height of his power. He quickly demonstrated that power and had several opponents executed in front of a large audience. Rebel leader Mulele was also executed after being tortured. Later, Mobutu usually tried to buy off his political opponents and ensured that people never remained in the same position for long, making it difficult to build a base to overthrow the regime. Other people were arrested, sentenced to death, and then returned to high positions in the government.
Africanization and delusions of grandeur
In 1971, Mobutu changed the country’s name to Zaire, as part of the pro-African cultural consciousness that Mobutu said he was promoting. European names were replaced by African names and there were strict punishments for priests who dared to baptize a child with a European name. Western clothing and especially the tie were replaced by the ‘ abacos t’ (a bas le costume, or away with the suit), a Mao-style tunic. Mobutu also changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga. At the same time he adopted the outfit for which he would become best known, the abacost, dark glasses, cane and leopard hat.
Mobutu enriched himself enormously at the expense of his country and people. His wealth was probably about $5 billion in 1984, mostly in Swiss banks. This amount was equal to Cong o’s foreign debts at that time. The country’s infrastructure was dire and people were literally starving. Officials were barely paid, all the money went to Mobutu, his family and the clique around him. Inflation was a huge problem and all this increased corruption, which was rampant during Mobutu’s rule. Nepotism was proverbial in the Mobutu period. Personality cult was also an important aspect of society.
Chaos a Departure
In 1990, Mobutu realized that his position was in danger, the Cold War was all but over and Congo was in total chaos. He allowed political parties other than his MPR and a transitional government was established in the run-up to elections. However, unrest grew rapidly and by 1993 there were two governments running simultaneously, one pro-Mobutu and the other anti. In 1994, they together formed the High Council of Republic – Parliament of Transition (HCR-PT). Mobutu was now in poor health and regularly went to Europe for medical matters. During an absence, Tutsis (known in Congo as Banyamulenge) took over much of eastern Zaire. In November 1996, Tutsis were forced to leave the country under penalty of death. Eastern Congo was in complete chaos and President Museveni of Uganda and Kagame of Rwanda tried to have Mobutu removed from power. Troops advanced towards Kinshasa from the east. On May 16, 1997, after failed peace talks, Tutsi rebels and anti-Mobutu groups took Kinshasa and the Republic of Congo was proclaimed. On May 17, Mobutu left the country, first going to Togo, but spending most of his time in Morocco, where he died on September 7 of the same year. The day Mobutu left the country, Laurent-Désiré Kabila became the new president of Congo. This was the eve of a civil war and genocide the likes of which the world has rarely known.