Joseph Kabila Kabange, born June 4, 1971 in Hewa Bora II (1) in the territory of Fizi (South Kivu province), is president of the Democratic Republic of Congo since the assassination of the former president, his father Laurent -Designed Kabila, January 16, 2001, during the second Congo war. He led the Alliance for the Presidential Majority (AMP) and created the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) in 2002.
Mutineers plunder the property of Europeans, attack European officers and civilians. The Belgian government sends troops to protect its nationals. The military revolt is extinguished after the dismissal of Janssens by Lumumba and the immediate promotion of Congolese as officers of the Force Publique8. Lumumba's friend, Joseph Mobutu, is appointed chief of staff with the rank of colonel.2
On November 27, 2006, he was declared by the Supreme Court of Justice winning the second round of the presidential election, held on October 29, 2006, thus becoming President of the Republic (2).
He is re-elected on November 28, 2011 and the inauguration ceremony takes place on December 20, but his main opponent, Étienne Tshisekedi, disputes the results and has also proclaimed himself President of the Republic, planning to be invested on Friday 23 December 2011 (3).
Under the Mobutu regime, he is in exile in Tanzania where he calls himself, for security reasons related to his hiding, Hippolyte Kabange Mtwale (4). He is enrolled at the French School of Dar es Salaam. He also takes care of the fisheries that his father owned on Lake Tanganyika. In October 1996, he joined the latter, during the first Congo war and is trained in the profession of arms by the chief of staff of the Rwandan army, James Kabarebe. He becomes Major General.
In 1998, while his father was president, he tried to stop the civil war and successfully withdrew foreign troops stationed in the country. He participated, however, in the battle of Pweto in November 2000.
After leaving the law school of Makerere University to help his father, Joseph Kabila earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Washington International University, a distance higher education institute not recognized by the Department of International Relations. United States education1,5.
Acting President (2001-2006)
Then in 2001, following the assassination of his father, he was designated by the entourage of the latter to hold the presidency of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Following a peace agreement, the inter-Congolese dialogue, which ends the second Congo war, a transitional government was set up in 2003 and includes the leaders of the two main rebel groups who thus become "vice-presidents" ". This transition, planned to last two years, was to lead to elections before the end of 2005. In fact, delays in execution push it back until the end of 2006.
In February 2004, Kabila made an official trip to Belgium. He presents his country to European investors6. During his address to the Belgian Senate he praised the Belgian colonization: "The history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is also that of the Belgians, missionaries, officials and entrepreneurs who believed the dream of King Leopold II of to build a state in the center of Africa. We want to honor the memory of all these pioneers. 7 This position was criticized and his remarks described as "revisionist" 8.
On March 28, 2004, supporters of former President Mobutu Sese Seko tried unsuccessfully to overthrow Joseph Kabila by a coup. Since taking office, Joseph Kabila has faced repeated wars in eastern Congo where rebel forces, either internal or supported by neighboring governments (Uganda, Rwanda), are trying to destabilize the country through violence, crime, looting of resources. Nevertheless, these rebels are also motivated by something other than greed and control of gold and diamond mines: former genocide Hutu re-arm in the Congo and conduct military raids in Burundi. Both Rwanda and Burundi, wishing to enter a period of calm in the Great Lakes region, are hunting down Interahamwe militiamen in eastern DRC.
Joseph Kabila's family will receive US $ 36 million from the Congolese state as damages for the murder of his Aunt Espérance Kabila by Colonel Mwamba Takiriri9.
President (since 2006)
Joseph Kabila ran for president in Congo in 2006. He was accused by his opponents of not being Congolese but Tanzanian (or Rwandan). These arguments were not considered admissible by the Congolese Supreme Court. Fighting with heavy weapons also took place in Kinshasa against his rival of the second round, Jean-Pierre Bemba. For the campaign Joseph Kabila appealed to a Washington-based public relations firm, D.C., Stevens and Schriefer Group, which had previously dealt with two election campaigns of George W. Bush10.
In 2011, Joseph Kabila was proclaimed winner of the 2011 presidential election by the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission). The electoral process is considered flawed and not credible by international organizations including the Carter Center11 and the European Union Election Observation Mission12. On March 22, 2013, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced that they had foiled a plot to assassinate President Joseph Kabila and overthrow the government.
Notes and references
1. ↑ a, b, c and d "Brief Biographical Overview of the President of the Republic" (Archive • WikiWix • Archive.is • Google • What to do?), On Official Website of the President of the Republic. Accessed January 6, 2010 2. ↑ Kabila elected president [archive] 3. ↑ Kabila invested despite the challenge [archive], Le Figaro, 20-12-2011 4. ↑ "The first four Presidents of the Congo", by Celestin Kabuya Lumuna Sando, November 2002, information included in the article "Pierre Yambuya unpacks Joseph Kabila, but ... '" on independent Congo [archive] as well as Eric Kennes in "Kabila and the Congolese revolution, pan-Africanism or neocolonialism? ", Taken by" Le Soir ", January 9, 2004 [archive] 5. US remote learning association, organizational members [archive] 6. ↑ Kabila meets businessmen [archive], RTBF, February 9, 2004. 7. ↑ President Joseph Kabila in the Belgian Senate: "A pathetic appeal for a development plan for the Congo" [archive], February 18, 2004. 8. ↑ Kinshasa: a severe leadership crisis [archive], Le Soft, February 15, 2004. 9. ↑ Lubumbashi: the assassin of Esperance Kabila sentenced to death [archive], Radio Okapi, August 4, 2005. [Consulted July 17, 2006] 10. ↑ The Economist, July 8, 2006 Vol.380, Number 8485; pg. 58, London. 11. ↑ [PDF] (en) [1] [archive] 12. ↑ [PDF] [2] [archive] 13. ↑ DRC: assassination of Kabila foiled [archive], Le Figaro, March 22, 2013. 14. ↑ Statement by Étienne Kabila Taratibu at the Inter-Congolese Dialogue of Sun-City in South Africa [archive], March 15, 2002. [accessed January 6, 2010] 15. ↑ Colette Braeckman, "Spotlight on Laurent-Désiré Kabila" Biographical essay on Laurent-Désiré Kabila ", Erik Kennes (in collaboration with Munkana N'Ge)" Kabila and the Congolese revolution, Pan-Africanism or neocolonialism? », Volume 1, Ludo Martens« Democratic Republic of the Congo, wars without borders, from Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to Joseph Kabila », Olivier Lanotte» [archive], Le Soir, 9th January 2004 16. ↑ "The Great Imaginary Biography of Laurent Désiré Kabila" [archive], La Conscience, March 29, 2004 17. ↑ "The half-truths of Mama Sifa Mahanya" [archive], Congoindependant.com, June 9, 2006. (copy on Afriquechos.ch [archive])