CENTRAL AFRICA
DR CONGO – “DRC: The stakes”, Nathalie Yamb rebels
Activist Nathalie Yamb is outraged by the fact that the world is acting as if it had just realized, with the death of Italian ambassador Luca Attanasio, killed in the attack of the WFP convoy, that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been at war for years. Militias rule Kivu, slaughtering and killing men, women and children. She spoke about the role of the DRC’s neighbours in this conflict, which is underpinned by the exploitation of the country’s mineral resources. Militia abuses, ethnic conflicts for economic reasons, the silence of the major arms-supplying powers and above all the division of the Congolese ruling class are all subjects developed by Nathalie Yamb in a video posted on her Facebook page and YouTube channel this Wednesday, February 24 as the title “DRC: The stakes”. Below is the complete analysis:
“Hello, a European ambassador must be killed there so that suddenly, suddenly, the rest of the world remembers that Kivu has been in a murderous war for years. Yet death is daily in this region. Hundreds of civilians are killed, women are raped, women are ransacked, children are kidnapped and enslaved. The numbers are huge. Men, women and children are dying at a rate that even video game designers would not have dared to imagine.
Eastern DRC, composed of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Virunga National Park, is a territory where armed militias, financed by neighbouring states including Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda, sows death, violence and desolation to appropriate the riches of the soil and especially of the basement. For example, a country like Rwanda may be the largest exporter of coltan while the vast majority of the world’s reserves of this mineral are in the DRC. A bit like Burkina Faso had found itself a major exporter of cocoa at the time when the rebellion of Guillaume Soro had cut in half the Ivory Coast, the first producing country.
Watch the video here :
A recent census counted 122 different armed groups in the east of the country. In the Congo, there were 700 deaths from Covid in 2020, but in the same period, in the country where blessed is cursed, in the province of Ituri alone, the Ugandan militia ADF killed 849 civilians and abducted 534 people, 457 of whom are still missing. These are only the regional figures of one militia over a year. There are 122, all more barbaric than the others. I’ll let you do the math. And while the purists argue over whether to call these millions genocide deaths or not, the slaughter continues.
Ethnic or community conflicts between Banianwouléngué against the Mai Mai or against the Lindou and the Emma, these are examples, are stoked and exploited for economic wars. I told you in my last video, our wars, our conflicts are their business. The five members of the UN Security Council (sic) are the five largest arms dealers on the planet. And it is also home to the companies that need the blood minerals that abound in the Congo, which accounts for 90% of the exports of a country that is ranked as the eighth poorest in the world. But you and I both know that the country is not poor, that it is even one of the richest in the world. But it is its people who are kept in poverty. Another example of irrationality is that the DRC has a gigantic 100,000 Mwt hydroelectric potential, one-third of Africa’s potential. But only 2677 Mwt are installed, of which only 1130 Mwt are in operation due to lack of maintenance. And that’s how only 9% of its inhabitants have access to electricity. It’s like banging your head against a wall.
f it were three local collaborators of the Italian embassy who had died, it would not have made the headlines. It would have been business as usual. In our ruthless world, as long as the dead are black, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t really matter. That’s how Africans are always fighting each other or dying of starvation. The main thing, is it not that they never arrive in Europe? While they die in the forests of the Congo or at the bottom of the Mediterranean, it is kif-kif bourricot. On the other hand, coltan, tolsten, cobalt, uranium, tin, diamond, copper, gold they may not, must come to the West. They have to get out of the African bush because we need them for the manufacture of smartphones, laptops, cameras, electronics, electric cars, nuclear and aeronautical missiles, in metallurgy. 80% of the world’s coltan reserves are located in the Congo and 60% of the world’s cobalt is extracted from Congolese artisanal mines where children often dig by hand and where tunnels sometimes collapse by killing or maiming them so that elsewhere in the world people may have gadgets like the camera that is filming this video. The difference is that some are aware of the blood flowing on the hands of Apple, Google, Tesla, Samsung, Bayer, Sony, Huawei companies and others ignore it or pretend to ignore it. But now, you who look at it, you can no longer ignore it.
https://www.instagram.com/sophiediamankabesland/
I know that in Africa a lot of people don’t like to read, but I would still suggest a comic book entitled «Kivu» that I bought before my expulsion, the link of which I put in comment or in the description box, that tells with a striking reality the situation in the East of the Congo and the bloody relations that link the «clean Monsieurs» of the West with the killer monsters of the equatorial forest. But the international community says that it has already done so much for the Congolese. Here! There is a United Nations operation, MONUSCO, which does not serve much purpose except to keep the macabre statistics of the deaths that are piling up. However, a budget of $1 billion 154 million a year is available to 17,000 peacekeepers who are much better equipped than the Congolese army, which is unable to stop the bloodshed, which is largely a civilian casualty, whose protection is nevertheless the core of the mission for which 14,000 military personnel, 660 military observers and civil registration officers, 591 police officers and 1,050 members of constituted police units have been established since 2010. Ah yes, and then we gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Denis Mukwege, gynecologist, the man who repairs women whose vaginas were smashed by the bumps and the bailels of their rapists. He was also awarded the Olof Palme Prize, the United Nations Human Rights Prize, the Clinton Foundation Prize, the Chirac Foundation Prize, the Sakharov Prize. It is so much easier to buy a conscience by drinking a single person from a mountain of prices rather than to stop the massacres that mourn a country but enrich your entrepreneurs.
The DRC has the possibility of becoming the China of Africa, in terms of population power 100 million inhabitants, in terms of territorial extent, is 2,345,000 km2, in terms of mineral resources. But instead of being a colossus that inspires respect, that propels development, that sends people into space, it is a giant with feet of clay that its little neighbors have been abusing calmly for years and sending its children six feet underground. So it’s true, the outside has its fair share of responsibility. And it is good to remind her, from time to time, that losing a father, a husband or a son in violent attacks does not have to be the prerogative of the Congolese. But what angers me is the inability of the political leaders of the DRC to unite to finally give their country the place that should be theirs on the continental and global stage, and to the people a daily life of peace and prosperity. However, as Mamadou Coulibaly chanted in Côte d’Ivoire on October 10, 2020, a united people will never be defeated. Congo’s misfortune does not come from the appetite for its mineral resources outside the country. The misfortune of the Congo is that its leaders are the corrupt, the thieves, the sold-out, the traitors to the fatherland, the fearless and the thoughtless. The law which establishes that Congolese soil and subsoil are the property of the State is one of the important sources of the current situation. The land in the Congo must be reformed and owned by the local people at the same time as they are given the means to defend their property. I will put at the end of this video the link of one of Mamadou Coulibaly who explains his proposal for land reform in Côte d’Ivoire which may be, why not the basis of a reflection for the Congo.
https://www.instagram.com/sophiediamankabesland/
We Africans cannot pretend that the Congo is just the “sapeurs” and the “cadenced rumba”. In recent weeks, Congolese President Félix Tchisekedi has taken over the leadership of the African Union. It will be difficult for him to be credible in this role if, at the same time, the situation does not change positively in his country. The minimum he can do is mobilize the energies and attentions around the conflict that is tearing the Congo apart to stop the rivers of blood that are mourning the great lakes region and that honour none of them.we in Africa; it is to obtain the means to train and equip the Congolese army to secure the Eastern zone, which also serves as a base-back for rebellions that seek to overthrow the governments of neighboring countries; it is to reform certain laws to counter the voracious effects of external geostrategic appetite and it is also to invest in human capital. The task is not an easy one, but we must be able to feel the unshakeable will to go to the coal to turn the tide. Let us wish him success, let us help him to succeed, because Africa will win.
Very few media reported the name of the driver who died yesterday. His name was Milambo Mustapha. I present my yako to his relatives and to the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost members in this endless war in Kivu and the Congo. Take care of yourself and see you soon.”
Just elected, Brice Oligui Nguema, former president of the transition, wants to engage the country in a profound institutional refoundation. After the creation of a new party, he intends to appoint vice-presidents and carry out electoral reforms.
A victory expected, a transition in motion
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema came, largely, at the head of the presidential election of April 11, 2025. According to the results announced by the Minister of the Interior, Hermann Immongault, he was elected with 90% of the votes cast. This, it would seem, Soviet score is the measure of popularity gained since the coup d’état of August 30, 2023, by which the head of the Republican Guard had ended the reign of the Bongo family. After less than two years at the head of the Gabonese transition, Brice Oligui Nguema had promised a political break. With the removal of the Prime Minister, executive power is now centralized in the Presidency. He will not want to concentrate all these powers in his hands alone, so he plans to create vice-presidents.
Two Vice-Chairs
With the adoption of more than 1,000 normative texts in the first year, to give effect to the principles of the new Constitution. A reform presented by its supporters as a rationalisation of institutions, in a country where power was already, in fact, very concentrated. The two vice-presidents who will be appointed will soon have to be designated: one, protocol, will be the number two of the state; the other will be in charge of government action. The latter must have a high level of administrative expertise and must be a political force. The names of Joseph Owondault Berre and Raymond Ndong Sima circulate. But, nothing is certain.
A new calendar
The political battle does not end there. A new law on political parties, with stricter criteria and an electoral redistribution that will allow the organization of legislative and local elections from August 2025. Always in the perspective of the gathering. On the presidential majority side, the platform Rassemblement des Bâtisseurs (RdB) will turn into a political party. He intends to gather the President’s support without absorbing the many components of the platform (84 parties, 4,200 associations, 22,000 individual members). Its coordinator, Anges-Kevin Nzigou, presents it as a “political matrix” designed to structure a future majority. This initiative is causing a stir: Justine Lekogo, member of the platform, has publicly expressed her reservations, questioning the legitimacy of this transformation and the silence of the president on the subject.
A new Republic
If the refoundation dynamic seems to be on track, the institutional balance remains to be built. The concentration of power around the president, even validated by the ballot box and referendum, raises questions. The break with the old regime will be measured by actions: political openness, independence of counter-powers, electoral transparency. Brice Oligui Nguema now has free hands. It remains to be seen whether it will make Gabon a renewed democracy, or whether it will perpetuate, in some other form, the legacy of a centralized power.
Nicholas Nguema has slowly established himself as a great advocate of democratic reforms and transparency on the Gabonese political scene. He was very hard on the Bongo regime until its fall in 2023, he is also one of the major supporters of General Brice Oligui Nguema. However, this does not prevent him from calling for a definitive break with the former PDG regime. To what is this repositioning due? Pragmatic evolution or political ambition? With the 2025 presidential election approaching, Nicolas Nguema appears more than ever as a key player in Gabon’s political system.
Nicholas Nguema, between politics and business
Well-known in the Gabonese landscape, Nicolas Nguema is one of the people who animate the political ecosystem of this West African country with less than three million inhabitants. Fervent advocate of democratic reforms and transparency in the country’s governance, this businessman and politician is the co-founder of the Party for Change (PLC), along with lawyer Anges Kevin Nzigou. During the reign of former President Ali Bongo, this party has, through its positions, ended up being a critical voice in advocating, loudly, for a profound transformation of the political landscape of his country, minated by clientelism and other concussions of all kinds. Alongside his political commitment, Nicolas Nguema is a true businessman. Legal agent in Gabon of the Santullo Sericom Group, an Italian company that has had disputes with the Gabonese state in the past, he played a key role. With this double cap of businessman and politician, Nicolas Nguema is sometimes adored, sometimes controversial.
A commitment marked by protest
Since the creation of the PLC (Party for Change), Nicolas Nguema has shown his line of conduct. Standing out from other members of the Gabonese opposition who do not hesitate to fall into the marigot of corruption, he has forged his identity, and especially the image of a man who does not compromise with the truth. Rare in a country plagued by corruption at the highest levels of government. Having been one of the active members of the collective “Call to Action”, which sought recognition of the power vacancy following President Ali Bongo’s health problems, Nicolas Nguema has made many enemies, even within his own political party. Note that this movement marked a turning point in the Gabonese opposition by highlighting the need for political alternation. Of course, this did not come without legal problems. Thus, in December 2020, he was arrested and placed in police custody by the General Directorate of Counter-Interference and Military Security (B2), in an alleged case related to the sale of a barge belonging to the Santullo Sericom Group. With the many supporters of the population and its supporters who denounced an arrest for political reasons. After several weeks of detention, he was released in March 2021 thanks to a decision by the Chamber of Indictment of the Court of Appeal of Libreville.
Brice Oligui Nguema, politics differently
Since the fall of Ali Bongo in August 2023 following a coup
, Nicolas Nguema and his party have adopted a new posture. Now the PLC is no longer hiding its support, openly shown, to General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the man who leads the political transition after the coup. With the congress scheduled for February 22, 2025, the PLC should, it is hoped, formalize its positioning, which we know, goes in favor of the president of the transition, Brice Oligui Nguema. He was in France at the beginning of February to mobilize the diaspora, Nicolas Nguema says to anyone who wants to hear that General Oligui Nguema has made “concrete progress” in fifteen months of transition, particularly in terms of infrastructure and governance. But issues like education and health are areas where much remains to be done.
Break with the old regime
Despite his support for the leader of the transition, Nicolas Nguema remains very lucid. Indeed, it does not miss an opportunity to insist on the need for a total break with the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which has dominated the political scene for more than five decades. According to him, the current transition will only be successful if the former barons of the Bongo regime are definitively removed from the administration. “Of course, we blame the fact that there are still too many ‘PDGists’ within the administration, but this will inevitably stop very soon. Inevitably, the CEO must disappear from the political landscape in our country.” For the early presidential election of 12 April 2025, the position of DFC and its Co-Chairman is clear: it believes that Brice Oligui Nguema is best placed to lead this transition, provided he detaches himself completely from the CEO.
Nicolas Nguema, a political strategist?
The DFC has made a 180° turn by providing its unwavering support to the Gabonese transition. Political strategy? The political future of the DFC, which passed in a blink of an eye from a radical opposition party to a fervent supporter of the transition, marks an important development in Nicolas Nguema’s political career. Does he hope that this pragmatic position will allow him to play a key role in the recomposition of the Gabonese political landscape? Beyond all these questions, it is not easy to see the old party, the CEO and the weight of the former cadres of this party disappear so soon. Also, the upcoming presidential election will serve as a test to assess whether the transition will usher in a new era for Gabon. In any case, Nicolas Nguema, as an influential figure of the PLC, will have to make a choice: fly with his own wings or stay in the lap of transition. He has already declared himself a candidate for the next parliamentary elections for the renewal of the Gabonese Parliament.
An official of the party of the opponent Moïse Katumbi was killed and several others wounded Tuesday, November 28, 2023 in Kindu, in eastern DRC, where the opponent arrived as part of his campaign for the presidential election of December 20. This is the first major incident since the beginning of this election campaign, which is taking place in a tense political climate.
The climate was already tense long before the landing of Moïse Katumbi’s plane, the authorities having forbidden the opponent to hold his meeting at the Central Tribune of the main artery of the city of Kindu.
Upon arrival, Moïse Katumbi and his allies, including former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo and Seth Kikuni were cheered and followed by the crowd in the streets before the rally relocated elsewhere. It was at the approach of the governor’s residence that the opponent and his supporters were attacked with stone throws by young supposed to belong to the presidential party.
“Stoned”, according to his party
In the exchanges and the crowd, at the head of the procession, Dido Kakisingi, youth leader of the Ensemble for the Republic party of Moïse Katumbi in Kindu, was hit by a projectile. On the ground, he was beaten violently to the point of dying, according to his party, claiming that he was simply “stoned”.
But for the mayor of Kindu, the latter fell from a vehicle of the procession before being stamped. The police intervened, firing live ammunition. In the process, several others were injured.
These incidents did not stop the campaign procession of Moïse Katumbi who held his rally to ask the people to vote.
-
CULTURE3 months .SENEGAL – Alune Wade: “Boogie & Juju”, a transatlantic swing from Lagos to New Orleans
-
POLITICS2 weeks .SENEGAL – The national dialogue enters a decisive phase with the installation of three commissions
-
RELIGION2 weeks .IVORY COAST: All about the date of the Tabaski 2025
-
ART4 weeks .SENEGAL – Ousmane Sow’s massive sculptures enter the Vauban fort at Mont-Dauphin
-
CULTURE3 months .SENEGAL – Camille Bounama Sylla, a former “paperless” who moves the lines
-
CENTRAL AFRICA2 months .GABON – Brice Oligui Nguema, acclaimed, launches the Fifth Republic
-
IVORY COAST2 weeks .IVORY COAST AFRICA – The PDCI-RDA march postponed to June 14 to support Tidjane Thiam
-
CULTURE3 months .CHAD – Kadeux, viral phenomenon or sharing dynamics
