Biography of Christian Malanga, author of coup attempt in Kinshasa

Christian Malanga was born on January 2, 1983 in Kinshasa, originally from Mangai, Province of Kwilu, Democratic Republic of Congo to Joseph Itedjo Malanga from the village of Mangai and his mother Christine Kapayi, originally from Kinshasa. Malanga grew up in one of the poorest parts of Kinshasa, avenue Lobo, commune of Ngaba. At the age of 5, he lost his beloved mother, his father Joseph Malanga later remarried Chantal Kibonge Malanga. Christian Malanga is the eldest of his late father’s 6 children.

In 1991, his father left for politics in South Africa, then in Swaziland as refugees.

Under the Refugee Resettlement Program, the Malangas were fortunate to be sponsored to settle in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States of America in the late 1990s.

The move to the United States was life-changing for Mr. Malanga, he excelled in his studies as a student at Highland High School. He was a member of a few high school clubs. What he enjoyed most was being part of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), which was the main fundamental building block.

In 2006, Malanga returned to the DRC to carry out military service. He achieved the rank of captain in the Congolese army and held various positions, including brigade morale officer and commander of a training company.

After his military service, Malanga founded his own company, Malanga Congo, engaged in public works and procurement projects. These activities gave him a solid foundation for his political career, and he ran in the legislative elections as an independent opposition candidate in 2011. He was arrested by government security forces shortly before the elections and detained for several weeks. After his release, Malanga declined a government offer to become national youth president and instead chose to create his own political party, the UCP.

Since then, Malanga has returned to the United States to develop and consolidate his political party, campaigning among the Congolese diaspora in different countries. He thus strengthened the leadership and membership of the UCP in view of the recent national elections in the DRC.

Christian Musumari Malanga is the President of New Zaire, currently leading the “New Zaire First” initiative where entrepreneurs and innovators will thrive, opposing the regime of the current dictatorial government of Congo. Before entering politics, he was a businessman, philanthropist and former Congolese military veteran. Mr. Malanga is currently married to Lucile Malanga (also an activist for the same cause) and father of 8 children all living in the city of Miami, USA.

He was just killed on the night of Sunday May 19, 2024 in Kinshasa after an attempted putsch against the Palais de Nation and the official residence of Vital Kamerhe.

Roger Lazio