They are Jean Dominique Okemba and Jean Jacques Bouya.
And between both men, who stands the most or has the greatest chance of
succeeding Denis Sassou Nguesso? It is Jean Dominique Okemba. Why? It is simply
because; Jean Dominique Okemba is straightforward and crafty. He has money and
commands a solid network of loyalists within the security apparatus of the
state: Army, Navy, Air force, Police and Customs. He also has connections
within the civil society and political parties of the opposition as well as in
the majority. The icing on the cake is that, within the government, Jean
Dominique Okemba has ministers who are in government because of him. Furthermore,
the fact that, he is not highly educated makes others within and without the family,
who have presidential ambitions, to look down on him or tend to ignore him and
this, to their very own detriment and also their ambitions. The list of Jean
Dominique Okemba’s victims is impressive and the most prized of his
contemporary victims is Colonel Marcel Nstourou. And within the family, his
victims in the internal power struggle are Colonel Hillaire Mokou and Maurice
Nguesso and also General Pierre Oba. Jean Dominique Okemba is the most
influential member of the ruling family. However, there are others as well.
They are: Aime
Emmanuel Yoka, Maurice Nguesso, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso, Wilfried
Nguesso, Edgard Nguesso, Claudia Sassou Nguesso, Cendrine Sassou Nguesso,
Ninelle Sassou Nguesso and Lydie Hortense Kourissa. However, Claudia Sassou
Nguesso who is the special adviser to her father on Communications and media
and also Member of Parliament for Talangai constituency is unique in the
Nguesso power galaxy. In spite all the schemes and accusations leveled against Claudia
Sassou Nguesso, she still stands around her father like the rock of Gibraltar. Claudia Sassou Nguesso is very influential around
her father and also the country. She can make and destroy the careers of
people. Alain Akouala Atipault, for minister communications and former minister
delegate at the Presidency of the Republic is one of her victims. Alain was a
brilliant and fanatical supporter of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Alain
Akouala Atipault is still a supporter of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.
However, he is a disappointed man. The
simple fact that he wanted to obey only the father and not the daughter is the
cause of his downfall. Hence, he was wittingly thrown out of government.
By contrast, the current minister of Communications,
Mr Thierry Moungalla has ascended within the power circle to become what he is
today because he is first loyal to Claudia before the president and finally, the
state. The only person in the ruling
family who can rival Claudia and also stop her in her ambition is Jean
Dominique Okemba. Hence there are frequent clashes between Claudia and Jean
Dominique Okemba. While both Claudia Sassou Nguesso and Jean Dominique Okemba command
a lot of influence around Denis Sassou Nguesso, the entire family is ganging up
against Jean Dominique Okemba. The reason is simple. It is partly because of
the influence that Jean Dominique Okemba commands and also the proximity that Jean
Dominique Okemba has with their father and uncle of a president. A section of
the ruling family is afraid that with the proximity and power that Jean
Dominique Okemba has developed on the side of the President, he might be the
real successor designate. Their fear is not unfounded. If anyone who has an
analytical looks at the way President Denis Sassou Nguesso operates, he seem to
have a plan for Jean Dominique Okemba.
Having said or written the above, the truth is that,
President Denis Sassou Nguesso has not designated any successor. The simple
fact that, Jean Dominique Okemba is the one who does all special missions and
is present in any special matters in Congo or abroad, shows that, the President
of the Republic might be preparing the ground work for Okemba to succeed him
one day. However this none official plan
of the president is in direct opposition to that of Claudia Sassou Nguesso and
other members of the ruling family. This group would want that, in case
President Sassou Nguesso leaves power, he should be replaced either by Denis
Christel Sassou Nguesso or any other biological son or direct nephew. That is
as of now, the low intensity intra family battle that is being fought and that
has not been put in the public space. As
for Claudia Ikia Sassou Nguesso, she is formerly Mrs. Lemboumba, the name of her
late Gabonese husband. She is besides being an adviser to her father as already
mentioned, she a member of parliament for Quartier 68 in Talangai.
Talangai is one of the sprawling populous
neighborhoods located north of Brazzaville. She was controversially elected in
2012 after defeating her cousin Rene Serge Blanchard Oba. The truth is that, Rene
Serge Blanchard Oba was forced to concede defeat only after he accepted via the
mediation of Maurice Nguesso to be paid FCFA 1 billion or $ 6 hundred thousand.
In other words, Claudia Sassou Nguesso bought herself into parliament. However,
the sum promised to Rene Serge Blanchard Oba for grudgingly conceding defeat
was never paid. And it is partly one of the reasons why today, Rene Serge
Blanchard Oba has joined the radical wing of the opposition in Congo. Another
reason why Rene Serge Blanchard Oba is in the opposition today is because,
since he was dismissed as Director General of Congo Telecom, he has not been
given any other responsibility or job. In fact, Rene Serge Blanchard Oba whose
party abbreviated MSD was sponsored by late Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba is
jobless and he also claims that, he is persecuted by other family members such
as Michel Ngakala. To conclude, if Rene
Serge Blanchard Oba was paid FCFA 1
billion that her cousin Claudia promised him for his silence or he had a good job, he won’t have been a
member of the radical opposition.
Claudia Sassou Nguesso is the Communications adviser
to her father and is also one of the few children of the president who has
undergone and completed university education. But it is not known in which
field she really studied or the name of her University. But one thing that
attracts me to her is that, she speaks fluent English. She is one of the two
Denis Sassou Nguesso children whom, I know who speaks English fluently. The only problem with Claudia is that, unlike
her elder late half elder sister, Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba, (she) Claudia
Sassou Nguesso is not loved by Congolese. And the hatred is visceral. I was
startled by the hostility directed toward her in one Taxi that I boarded while
in Oyo in 2009. When I wanted to say something positive about Claudia Sassou
Nguesso, the taxi driver reacted with great anger. I don’t know whether she had a personal
problem with the Taxi driver or not. But what I noticed in Oyo and also in
Brazzaville and elsewhere in the country that I went was that, Claudia Sassou
Nguesso is hated for no founded reason. She is a source of wild tales and
amongst them, one holds that, she is very aggressive.
Personally, she has never acted wickedly or
aggressively on me. But what I suspect as being partly why she is rejected by
the people is because her mother comes from neighboring DRC. And in Congo, there
is a deep seeded aversion against people from the DRC. The other reason why she
is hated is because of power. The fact that, she is very close to her father
might have also ignited the flames of hatred in the minds of those who looks or
considers her as an obstacle to reach her father. To the defense of Claudia
Sassou Nguesso, I think that, if she always puts up an aggressive posture, it
is simply as an act of defense, for she is mindful of the hostility and hatred
that is directed toward her for founded and unfounded reasons. Claudia Sassou
Nguesso might also be aggressive because she thinks that, all those coming or
gravitating around her father, especially whites as well as none whites, are
not sincere or are interested only in her father’s wealth or money.
But one thing I suspect with her is that, she is too
susceptible and sees conspiracy all over. She twice told her father that, I was
a CIA spy. This was reported to me first by Maurice Nguesso and secondly by Raymond
Zephirin Mboulou, the minister of interior. On this last information, the
minister of interior was the one who defended me, when she first wanted me to
be expelled from Congo. The sad thing
with her is that, like her father, she doesn’t seem to like independent press.
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