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Vol 38 No 8

Published 11th April 1997


Congo-Kinshasa

Kabila yaka!

A bizarre coalition of money and Marxism lies behind the AFDL's phenomenal success

Several 'companions of the road' have given their support to 59 year-old Laurent-Désiré Kabila's political struggle. They are an odd bunch, from Maoist guerrillas to Wall Street investors via the occasional gold or arms smuggler. Perhaps the most illustrious was Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, who spent six months with opposition forces in 1967 using Kabila's base in the mountains of Fizi and Baraka. According to British journalist Richard Gott, Guevara was worried by Kabila's lack of contact with his soldiers on operations, the licentiousness of some of the political leaders and the persistence of beliefs about magic potions giving immunity from bullets.

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