Vol 39 No 4 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCONGO-KINSHASA More contras 20th February 1998 As French troops prepare to leave on 6 April, several hundred of the late President Mobutu Sese Seko’s Division Spéciale Présidentielle have joined forces with CAR ex-President André...
Vol 38 No 25 | CONGO-KINSHASA Best friends, friends and foes 19th December 1997 With little foreign aid to rebuild the country's shattered economy, the Kabila government will have to rely on private capital The project to reconstruct Central Africa is moving painfully slowly and with very little money, over six months after the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime spurred hopes...
Vol 38 No 24 | CONGO-KINSHASA Kabila's banker 5th December 1997 A brass plaque outside the smart new offices of the Banque de Commerce et de Développementin Kinshasa's main street, Boulevard du 30- Juin, proclaims that they were opened...
Vol 38 No 19 | CONGO-KINSHASA Kabila takes on the UN 26th September 1997 Mobutu's funeral was overshadowed by his successor's confrontation with the UN over missing refugees Few Congolese cared much about the funeral of Mobutu Sese Seko, in a Catholic cemetery in Rabat, Morocco, on 13 September. He died of cancer, aged 66, but...
Vol 38 No 19 | CONGO-KINSHASAUNITED STATES Washington quandary 29th September 1997 The US government juggles carrot and stick while business scoops a mineral map Should the United States and other potential donors make economic assistance conditional upon whether the new Congo government allows the United Nations' inquiry into refugee massacres to proceed?...
Vol 38 No 16 | CONGO-KINSHASA Payback time 1st August 1997 The backers of Kabila's war now want a return on their investment Congo-Kinshasa's neighbours and foreign investors had high hopes of business gains following the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko but the old dictator's legacy of institutional collapse and corruption...
Vol 38 No 14 | CONGO-KINSHASA Kabila's ghosts 4th July 1997 The AFDL's credibility is on the line as concerns over human rights mount Veteran opposition leader Étienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba still has huge support in the capital Kinshasa and his arrest on 26 June was for many Kinois the final stage...
Vol 38 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA Paid fighters – and their paymasters 20th June 1997 We reveal new facts about the Mobutu regime's final, failed attempts to hire a mercenary army As the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko tottered to its end, his generals were negotiating a rescue package with former South African military men. The President approved the...
Vol 38 No 12 | CONGO-KINSHASA Hanging on 6th June 1997 After his triumphal debut at the Organisation of African Unity summit (2-4 June) in Harare, Laurent-Désiré Kabila returned to Kinshasa and a sea of problems. Security is the...
Vol 38 No 11 | CONGO-KINSHASA Kabila in Kinshasa 23rd May 1997 The seven month military march is over; the political march looks longer and tougher Zaïre has a new name, République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), a new strongman, Laurent-Désiré Kabila and a new burst of goodwill from most of the world's capitals with...