Contents

Mobutu's Son Settles Scores

Rebels Enter with Little Bloodshed

Kinshasans Jubilant at Takeover

Country's Name Reverts to 'Congo'

Partial Cabinet Named

Foreign Reaction Is Cautious

Diplomatic Efforts Fail

Switzerland Freezes Mobutu Assets

Mobutu Cremates Rwandan Ally

U.N. Starts Refugee Airlift

Refugees Emerge on Western Border

U.N. Human Rights Probe Blocked

Related Articles

Facts on Kabila

Facts on Mobutu

Key Events in Congo's Post-Independence History, 1960-97

220,000 Hutus Flee Fighting; Other Developments

Mobutu Imposes Military Rule in Zaire As Rebels Take Second-Largest City

Premier Seeks Foreign Intervention

Mobutu Vows End to One-Party Rule

President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, facing a final rebel assault on the capital, Kinshasa, May 16 relinquished power, ending nearly 32 years of dictatorial rule over Africa's third-largest country. The following day, Laurent Kabila, a veteran guerrilla fighter who had led the rebels' seven-month offensive, declared himself head of state and changed the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mobutu, 66 years old and stricken by cancer, May 16 quietly left Kinshasa after three senior generals told him that they could no longer defend the city. After an overnight stop at Gbadolite, his ancestral village in northeastern Zaire, the former ruler May 17 flew to Togo to start what was expected to be a life in exile.

Information Minister Kin-Kiey Mulumba May 16 said at a news conference that Mobutu had decided to withdraw from active government but would retain the title of president. Mobutu had "ceased all intervention in the conduct of the affairs of state. . . . He reigns, but he does not govern," Mulumba said.

Mobutu had vowed never to be known as the former president of Zaire, only as the late president.

The Mobutu government May 16 crumbled as high-level officials fled across the Congo River to Brazzaville, capital of the neighboring Republic of the Congo. The army chief of staff, General Mahele Lieko Bokungo, was murdered by soldiers angry at his efforts to negotiate with the rebels. General Likulia Bolongo, the premier to whom Mobutu had officially ceded power, took refuge in the French embassy in Kinshasa. The next day, after urging government troops not to resist the rebels, the general fled to Brazzaville.

Generals Urge Mobutu to Step Down -- Premier Likulia, Chief of Staff Mahele and General Nzimbi Ngbale, head of the elite presidential guard, on the evening of May 15 told Mobutu that they could not defend Kinshasa against the rebels and that he had no option but to step down. Mobutu initially sent them away in anger but later that night agreed to cede power and flee the capital.

Mobutu's departure prompted a last flurry of river crossings May 16-17 as his allies fled to Brazzaville. Nzimbi, who was Mobutu's nephew, fled May 16, leaving the presidential guard--the only government unit thought capable of putting up a fight--without a commander. Likulia fled the city May 17.

The Zairian elite had for weeks prepared for flight, shuttling expensive vehicles and household goods across the Congo River. Many had flown to European capitals aboard fully booked flights.

Mobutu's Son Settles Scores -- Mobutu's youngest son, Captain Kongulu Mobutu, stayed an extra night May 16-17, reportedly to settle scores with people he believed had betrayed his father. Captain Mobutu, 27, was seen driving around the capital with members of the presidential guard, detaining men who had reportedly encouraged negotiations with the rebels. Shortly after he arrived at Camp Tshatshi, the military compound where his father had lived until his flight, presidential guard members there murdered Mahele. Mahele had reportedly planned to negotiate a cease-fire with the rebels in order to avoid a bloody assault on the capital.

Mahele's murder sparked internal clashes May 16-17 among government units, in which the Kinshasa commandant and the head of the state security service reportedly were also slain.

Captain Mobutu crossed to Brazzaville May 17.

Rebels Enter with Little Bloodshed -- The first columns of rebel troops, numbering up to 1,500 men, May 17 entered Kinshasa. They were joined the following day by as many as 4,500 reinforcements.

The rebels met no significant military resistance. Most government troops donned white headbands and surrendered their weapons. Members of the presidential guard engaged in isolated skirmishes with the rebels but May 18 abandoned their base at Camp Tshatshi without a fight.

The local Red Cross May 19 said that 222 people, mostly soldiers loyal to Mobutu, had been killed during the May 17-18 rebel takeover. Journalists reported seeing rebel fighters summarily executing some government soldiers.

The rebels had met resistance only once during the final advance, at the town of Kenge, 120 miles (190 km) east of Kinshasa. There, government troops and fighters from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) May 6-8 battled ADFL forces in some of the fiercest fighting of the rebellion.

Kinshasans Jubilant at Takeover -- Kinshasa residents May 17-18 cheered the rebel soldiers and expressed jubilation at Mobutu's overthrow. Many of the city's five million people said they hoped that Kabila's regime would end the corruption, poverty and repression associated with the Mobutu era.

There were reports, however, of friction between the Lingala-speaking Kinshasans and the rebels, most of whom spoke Swahili and came from eastern and southern parts of the country. Some Kinshasa residents reportedly chanted anti-Rwanda slogans at rebel fighters. Soldiers from the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan army were widely believed to be fighting with the rebels.

Country's Name Reverts to 'Congo' -- Kabila, as the first rebel troops entered Kinshasa, May 17 declared himself head of state and suspended the country's constitution. A statement issued at the rebels' headquarters in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi said that Kabila "assumes from today the functions of the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo." The country had gone by that name from 1964 to 1971, when Mobutu changed the name to Zaire.

(The new Democratic Republic of the Congo was distinct from its much smaller neighbor, the Republic of the Congo.)

Kabila, 56, pledged to form a "national salvation government" within three days of his arrival in the capital. He said that a "constituent assembly" would be set up within 60 days to draw up a new constitution.

Mobutu's ouster was a stunning victory for Kabila, a former Marxist who had fought against the Western-aligned Mobutu for more than 30 years. Kabila had emerged from relative obscurity in November 1996 to take charge of a revolt by ethnic Tutsis in eastern Zaire.

Under his leadership--and with help from the governments of Rwanda, Uganda and, later, Angola--the revolt grew into a full-scale rebellion against Mobutu's regime. Kabila united veteran anti-Mobutu guerrillas with the Tutsi fighters to form an army known as the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL). The ADFL swept across the country with practically no opposition from the demoralized government forces.

Kabila May 20 flew to Kinshasa from Lubumbashi. His evening arrival was not publicized, and few onlookers were on hand to greet him.

Partial Cabinet Named -- Kabila late May 22 named 13 ministers to a new transitional government, which he would head as president. Further cabinet appointments were to be made later, ADFL officials said.

The key portfolios were assigned to ADFL members. Foreign Minister Bizima Karaha, Interior Minister Kongolo Mwenze, Finance Minister Mwana Mawampanga and Information Minister Raphael Ghenda were all top ADFL officials. No premier or defense minister was named.

The partial cabinet included two members of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), which since the 1980s had contested Mobutu's one-party rule by political means. The two UDPS members named were Paul Bandoma and Justine Kasavubu. Kasavubu was the daughter of the country's first president, Joseph Kasavubu, who was ousted by Mobutu in 1965.

Foreign diplomats had reportedly urged the ADFL to share power with the political opposition by appointing UDPS leader Etienne Tshisekedi as premier. Tshisekedi was not mentioned in the partial cabinet list. The UDPS enjoyed wide popularity in Kinshasa. Opinion polls taken before the rebel takeover had indicated that Tshisekedi would likely beat Kabila in an election.

Foreign Reaction Is Cautious -- The international community gave a cautious welcome to Kabila's ouster of Mobutu. Diplomats generally said they were glad to see the demise of Mobutu's regime, which had destroyed Zaire's economy and destabilized Central Africa by supporting rebel movements in several countries. However, many questioned Kabila's commitment to democracy and his ability to rule a vast nation of more than 200 ethnic groups. The ADFL's human rights record had been tarnished by reports of atrocities committed against Rwandan Hutu refugees.

U.S. President Clinton May 16 said that the U.S. wanted to see "a transition to genuine democracy." U.S. administration officials May 19 said that they would adopt the new name given to the country by the rebels.

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) May 18 acknowledged Kabila's victory. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan May 18 urged Kabila to respect the "choice and voice" of the people.

Diplomatic Efforts Fail -- Efforts by U.S. and South African officials prior to the rebel takeover to bring Mobutu and Kabila to the negotiating table May 4 succeeded after numerous delays. In their first meeting since the rebellion began, Mobutu and Kabila met that day aboard a South African naval vessel in Pointe-Noire, a port in the neighboring Republic of the Congo.

Mobutu said he would relinquish power only to a transitional body that would hold national elections. Kabila, insisting that Mobutu cede power directly to him, vowed to keep fighting.

The talks were arranged by Bill Richardson, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and South African President Nelson Mandela.

Mobutu May 8-9 attended a regional summit in Libreville, Gabon aimed at finding a peaceful end to the crisis. The participants May 8 issued a joint statement proposing that Mobutu cede power to a parliamentary speaker elected by the transitional legislature, who would then organize elections. The statement specified that Mobutu would not run in the elections because of his illness.

Mobutu supporters in the legislature advanced the plan May 10 by electing a Roman Catholic archbishop, Laurent Monsengwo, as speaker. However, the ADFL May 11 rejected the compromise.

Switzerland Freezes Mobutu Assets -- The Swiss government May 17 said it had frozen for one year all assets held under Mobutu's name in Switzerland. Swiss officials said the action was taken in response to a formal request from a public prosecutor in Lubumbashi. Swiss authorities a day earlier had seized a 30-room villa owned by Mobutu near Lausanne, Switzerland.

Switzerland's Federal Banking Commission May 13 had promised to renew a search for Mobutu's assets. A government review of 400 Swiss banks had earlier uncovered no assets under Mobutu's name.

The Congolese rebels had repeatedly called for Switzerland to impound Mobutu's assets before they could be transferred out of the country. According to a Financial Times investigative report published May 12, the bulk of Mobutu's liquid assets were held in Swiss banks.

Mobutu's personal wealth was valued in the billions of dollars. The Financial Times, citing estimates by officials of the U.S. Treasury Department and the International Monetary Fund, May 12 reported that Mobutu's fortune had been worth some $4 billion at its peak in the mid-1980s, but had since declined.

The Financial Times probe found that Mobutu had extensive property holdings in Europe and Africa. However, much of the property was hard to identify because it was held in the names of associates and front companies, according to the newspaper report.

Mobutu Cremates Rwandan Ally -- The remains of Juvenal Habyarimana, the former Hutu president of Rwanda, May 15 were cremated in Kinshasa on Mobutu's orders--reportedly to stop rebels from desecrating the body. After his death in a mysterious plane crash in 1994, Habyarimana's body had been taken to Zaire, where Mobutu installed it in a mausoleum. Mobutu had been a close supporter of Habyarimana.

U.N. Starts Refugee Airlift -- The U.N. April 30 began an airlift aimed at repatriating 80,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees stranded in deep forest along the Congo River south of Kisangani, a city in the northeast. Rebel soldiers and local villagers armed with machetes had reportedly attacked the refugees' camps on or around April 22, sending them fleeing into the forest. The refugees had begun to emerge from the forest April 28.

The operation, long delayed by the rebels, involved transporting the refugees to Kisangani by train, and thence by air to Rwanda. On the first day, the U.N. flew 236 refugees back to Rwanda. Ninety-one refugees May 4 suffocated or were crushed to death on an overcrowded train.

Fred Eckhard, a spokesman for Annan, April 25 accused the ADFL of a policy of "slow extermination." He said the rebels' refusal to allow aid workers to bring in food and medicine amounted to killing the refugees. He also accused the ADFL of systematically attacking the refugees.

Dispersing the Hutu refugees had been a priority for the ADFL--and their Rwandan backers--throughout the rebellion. Among the refugees were many of the Hutu militiamen who had murdered half a million Tutsis during Rwanda's 1994 civil war. The Hutu militias had subsequently used the refugee camps in Zaire as a base for raids into Rwanda.

U.N. officials estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 Hutu refugees were still in Congo.

Refugees Emerge on Western Border -- World Food Program officials May 5 said that some 50,000 Hutu refugees had emerged near the Congo River town of Mbandaka, close to the western border with the Republic of the Congo. The previously unknown group had traversed the breadth of Zaire on foot, a distance of more than 800 miles (1,300 km).

U.N. Human Rights Probe Blocked -- The U.N. May 9 accused the ADFL of hampering an investigation into alleged massacres of refugees by rebel fighters. The rebels had refused to permit a high-level U.N. delegation to visit suspected mass graves, the U.N. charged.