Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila
| Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila | |
|---|---|
| File:Monument of Laurent Kabila.jpg The mausoleum of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila was buried inside the building. | |
| Location | Palais de Marbre, Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
| Coordinates | 4°21′50″S 15°15′02″E / 4.3639°S 15.2506°E |
| Date | 19 January 2001 |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Weapon | Revolver (unspecified) |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Victim | Laurent-Desire Kabila |
| Perpetrators | Rashidi Kasereka, "Abdoul"[1] |
| Assailant | Rashidi Kasereka |
Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated on 16 January 2001 in his office at the Marble Palace, Kinshasa, his official residence. The assassin who killed him is an 18 year old boy named Rashidi Kasereka, who was later shot dead. The most information that the government has is that some former kadogos were part of this plan.
Reputation
Kabila's reputation had caught up to him as he killed more and more kadogos. The day before his assassination, Kabila had seen the execution of 47 kadogos which he believed had a plot to kill him. Due to this, his reputation with the army had plummeted and Kabila's life threat was in danger. The kadogos were being killed off more and more as Kabila's life was in more danger.[1]
In November 2000, Kabila had thought that he had discovered a plot against him and had arrested, tormented, and killed soldiers loyal to Commandant Anselme Masasu Nindaga who had days earlier made a speech at a reunion for 1,200 kadogos in Kinshasa.[2] The plot to assassinate Kabila started in early January 2001 when a group of kadogos went to Brazzaville and drew up a plan which followed the plan of Operation Mbongo Zero.[1]
Operation Mbongo Zero
Operation Mbongo Zero was the plan that was drew up by the conspirators that explains how the conspirators would penetrate key positions at the capital, which included the Marble Palace. Mbongo means "bull" in Swahili. After they would access the palace, the penetrators would the approach the president with a revolver and fire at him. This group of penetrators were kadogos who fought with Kabila against Mobutu Sese Seko's military dictatorship. Kasereka reported to had said “I will kill him,”[3]
Attack
On January 16, 2001, the assassin had entered the president's office as Kabila was discussing with an economics adviser, Emile Mota,[4] about a looming summit with France he hoped would protect his presidency over the Congo. The assassin bent over Kabila, and the president leaned towards him, thinking the bodyguard wanted to speak to him. The bodyguard then pulled out a revolver and shot the president four times, and then escaped the palace with other penetrators while the palace was filled with gunfire.[1]
Former Health Minister Leonard Mashako Mamba was right next door to the office when Kabila was shot and arrived immediately after the assassination.
Mwenze Kongolo had been waiting for admission to the palace at 1:45 pm and heard gunshots being fired in the building.[4] Inside, other bodyguards rushed in the room and fired at the assassin, who was hit first in the leg, then twice more to make sure he was dead.[4] After 15 minutes, Kabila was in a helicopter headed to a clinic in Gombe, Kinshasa. Curfew that day started at 6, and after 8 hours, there was a motorcade set off from the clinic for the long drive to N'djili Airport, with an ambulance in the middle.[4]
Kabila was transported to Harare, Zimbabwe for medical treatment. He was declared dead on January 18 at 10 am.[5]
Funeral
Kabila had a state funeral on the 20, when he was flown to Baudouinville, his home village, then to Lubumbashi, then back to Kinshasa.[6] Kabila was buried in the Mausolée de Laurent Désiré Kabila, in Kinshasa. Armed soldiers from Zimbabwe stood around the People's Palace, where the funeral took place, and nearby roads were blocked by armored cars. Hundreds of troops from another war ally, Angola, had also been called.[5]
The presidents of Angola and Zimbabwe were also present at the funeral.[7]
Aftermath
After his father's death, Joseph Kabila succeeded his father at the young age of 29 due to the statement that if he [Laurent] were to die in office, that Joseph would take over.[6] Some individuals were accused of being involved in a plot to overthrow his him as well. The government had been stabilized even through the loss of power. Kabila had a state funeral on the 20, when he was flown to Baudouinville, his home village, then to Lubumbashi, then back to Kinshasa.[6] He was buried in the Mausolée de Laurent Désiré Kabila, or in English, The Mausoleum of Laurent Désiré Kabila.
After the assassination, a group of kadogos were eventually arrested and admitted to be part of the operation.[3] The reason behind the attack was revealed, the reason is revenge after Kabila betrayed them after meeting with one of the kadogo's longtime enemy, Paul Kagame.[1] According to the Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo, the killer was Rashidi Kasereka, who was shot later while escaping the palace.[1]
It has also been assumed that a bodyguard had shot Kabila.[8] An investigation found 135 people who were accused of the killing of Kabila, including 4 children.[9] Some sources stated 115 were accused.[10] No one was found to be the killer of Kabila. The RFI had let out a radio message in France of Kabila's death. Foreign Minister Louis Michel told RTBF that Kabila's death was not a coup d'etat but was rather "an argument that descended into violence".[11] Michel had also stated that "[Kabila was] dead, killed by his own bodyguard, who had "apparently fired two bullets."
The assassin, Kasereka was in the Brazzaville-Kinshasa area before his death. 26 people, including Kabila's own cousin, Colonel Eddy Kapend, were sentenced to death, although they weren't under any capital punishment. 45 were proclaimed innocent and exonerated. 64 defendants were jailed.[9] According to dpa[a], the alleged summary had seen the execution of Commandant Masasu and 34 of his colleagues. The persecution of members of ethnic groups from eastern Congo continued.
In Goma, a spokesperson had confirmed that officers of the Congolese Armed Forces had staged a coup d'état against Kabila. Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudjihad denied this fact.[12] Eddy Kapend made the following appearance on the Congolese television: “To the army Chief of Staff, to commander of ground, air and naval forces and all regional military commanders: I order you to take charge of your units.” He continued, “Until further notice, no guns shall be fired for whatever reason.”[12]
19 years later, on January 8, 2021, President Félix Tshisekedi had pardoned 28 of the convicted inmates who served their sentences in 2005, from the Makala Prison in Kinshasa.[13] The countries involved have been speculated to be Rwanda which had been rivals with the Congo for a long period of time, and Angola.
Filmography
Between 2009 and 2011, journalists Arnaud Zajtman and Marlène Rabaud researched and produced an investigative film about Kabila's killing with Al Jazeera. The film, titled Murder in Kinshasa, concludes that those convicted of Kabila's death are innocent, and that the assassination was in fact organized by Congolese rebel forces with the support of the Rwandan government, and approval of the United States.[14][15][16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Jeffries, Stuart (2001-02-11). "Revealed: how Africa's dictator died at the hands of his boy soldiers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ "Rights group accuses Kinshasa of "executions"". The New Humanitarian (in French). 2000-12-18. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
- ^ a b Stearns, Jason (2010-08-03). "What you didn't know about Congolese history: The Killing of LDK". Congo Siasa. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ a b c d Vick, Karl (2001-01-27). "Congo'sStrangelySmoothTransition". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ a b Onishi, Norimitsu (2001-01-23). "Congo Buries Elder Kabila (Published 2001)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
- ^ a b c Onishi, Norimitsu (2001-01-27). "Glimpse of New President as Joseph Kabila Takes Oath in Congo (Published 2001)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ "Reuters Archive Licensing". Reuters Archive Licensing. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
- ^ AfricaNews (2021-01-16). "DR Congo: 20th anniversary of Laurent Désiré Kabila's assassination". Africanews. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ a b "The Chronic: Who Killed Kabila | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Cape Town. South Africa | Namibia | Zimbabwe". Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ "Who killed Laurent Kabila?". The Economist. 2002-03-21. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ "Kabila killed in the presence of sacked generals". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
- ^ a b Ngolet, François (2011), Ngolet, François (ed.), "Kabila: A Prisoner of Himself", Crisis in the Congo: The Rise and Fall of Laurent Kabila, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 175–198, doi:10.1057/9780230116252_8, ISBN 978-0-230-11625-2, retrieved 2021-02-09
- ^ "Tshisekedi pardons Laurent Kabila killers". The East African. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ Thomas Turner, 2013b, Will Rwanda End its Meddling in Congo? Current History, Volume 112, Issue 754, pp. 188-194.
- ^ Arnaud Zajtman, 28 October 2011, "Murder in Kinshasa." Al Jazeera, [1].
- ^ Arnaud Zajtman and Marlène Rabaud, 9 June 2011, "Murder in Kinshasa." Al Jazeera, [2].
Notes
- ^ The German News Agency.
