The story of Congo’s history is not very well known. This country has been exploited for its ivory, slaves, rubber, copper, uranium, coltan and other minerals. It’s had political unrest for years, has been governed by dictators, experienced wars, financial chaos and economic unrest. This is Part 5 of a 6 part series of the country’s history. Part 5 starts with President Mobutu’s exile in 1997 and rebel leader Laurent Kabila’s take over of the country. The story continues with Laurent Kabila’s assassination in 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila seizing the presidency for 16 years, his refusal to leave when termed out and then having one of the first democratically elected presidents in 2018, Felix Tshisekedi.
Thanks to Nyenemo Sanguma for sharing his family’s personal story of surviving multiple bombings by Laurent Kabila’s rebels, in Gemena (my home town), escaping into the forest for a month then making their way to Cameroon and on to the US to safety. Paul Noren shares about the corruption the average person faces in everyday life. And thanks to Talabisa Dawena for his perspective on Laurent Kabila’s initial impact on the country.
Pete Ekstrand shares about how the church fared during the absence of missionaries and during the 2nd Congo war, while many lived in the forest for fear of the war. “Thank you” to all the contributors to bring more authenticity and real life experiences to this podcast episode.
Copyright © 2022 by Jeffrey W. Eales. All rights reserved. No portions may be reproduced or transmitted in any format without the prior written permission of the author.
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thanks Jeff….very good! I learned a lot too…