Christian Mounzeo: Profile of a Poineer corruption fighter

Christian Mounzeo: he is the coordinator of an organisation in Congo called: publish what you pay and he is  also a member of another organization called Rencontre pour la Paix et les Droit de L’homme abbreviated RPDH. While present all over the country, RDPH is headquartered in Pointe Noire, the commercial capital of Congo. He always works in tandem with Brice Mackosso. They both made headlines in 2004, when they angered the government with their campaign aimed at making mandatory for the marketing and the sales of Congolese crude oil to the international market, to become transparent. The aim of their campaign was to let the people know how many barrel of oil was produced in Congo and when sold, how much did it generate and what did the government use the funds for. Until they began their campaign, the sales of crude oil, the main source of income for the country, was wrapped in a thick veil. They have partly won. Because of their campaign, the government has been finally forced to adhere to the extractive mining initiative.

The Congolese oil sector is not free from corruption, but at least today, Congolese know that, their government is corrupt. And it is a constant recipe for national revolt. The action of Christian Mounzeo and Brice Mackosso was a classic example how and what an energetic and independent civil society organization can achieve in a country such as Congo. And the irony is that, the government creates its own civil society organisations in order not to have or see emerge another RPDH or OCDH in Congo. Christian Mounzeo is an easy going and affable man, who is ready to help the weak and the marginalized. The city of Pointe Noire has become the epicenter of all kinds of abuses carried out by the president, his children, family members and his friends. It partly explains why, RPDH, besides keeping a hawk eye on how Congolese oil wealth is sold, managed and spend, RPDH also offers legal assistance to people in Point Noire whose properties and lands are more often than not, expropriated  by the rich, powerful and politically well connected happy few ruling class.

Roger Bouka Owoko: Profile of a tenacious human rights activist

Roger Bouka Owoko: he is still a member of the Congolese human rights and defense group called Organisation Congolaise des Droit the L’homme abbreviated in French as OCDH. Although incapacitated because of poor health, which has forced him to leave not only the limelight, but also to hand over his responsibility and function to Tresor Nzila, his successor. The tenacity and determination of Roger Bouka Owoko in defying the state, has contributed immensely not only in exposing several aspects of human rights violations carried out by the Congolese government, but also its crass corruption practices. He made his mark in the 2005 trial of top government soldiers or officers, who were accused of having orchestrated the disappearance of 352 Congolese refuges, who had returned from exile in the DRC. That massacre and disappearance, one of the many committed by the government of Denis Sassou Nguesso since he came to power in 1997, is generally known as in French as les Massacre du Beach. 

It took place in 1999.  Thanks to Roger Owoko and other activists like lawyer Herve Amboise Malonga, it is now been evident that, the 2005 Beach Trial was held in a Kangaroo court wherein the government did everything not only to absolve itself from accusations, but also all officers indicted.  The so-called beach trial was a sham. If Congo has recorded albeit a small improvement in the area of the respect of human rights, which has sadly been lost since 2012, it is partly because of the contribution of people such as Roger Owoko. His only regret is that, in the area of the fight against corruption, a new front he wanted to open, his poor health has not helped him to reach the goal that had set for himself and his organization. Their goal was a massive exposure of those who were stealing state money.  OCDH under him was ready to publish a list to name and shame all those who were embezzling state funds.

Tresor Nzila: Profile of a soft spoken Human rights defender

Tresor Nzila: he is the executive secretary general of the Organisation Congolaise des Droit de L’homme, OCDH. It is a human rights defense group. Unlike similar NGOs managed by individuals such Cephas Germain Ewangui and other pro-government groups, OCDH, currently led by Tresor Nzila is a real and genuine human rights defense body. Hence, OCDH is subject to regular police harassments. Tresor Nzila is a young gentleman who now assumes the role formerly held by Roger Owoko. Mr Owoko is a man whose audacity and persistence, gave sleepless nights to the Congolese government, a government that abuses its own citizens but is paradoxically determined to cover up its maltreatments. Roger Owoko, the predecessor of Tresor Nzila was firm in his positions and more, he was able to the alarm the government by disclose to the world the brutalities’ of Denis Sassou Nguesso. Tresor Nzila will certainly not only keep the flaming glowing, he will also make his own mark. From his looks, Tresor Nzila is the antithesis of his predecessor. He looks frail and he is soft spoken.

However, what they share in common is their determination to expose the excesses of the government. The Congo administration is a government that uses torture, rape and assassinations as its prime method to subjugate the population. Tresor Nzila is the type of person needed in the current fight. For his role will certainly contribute to implant in the  minds of those working for the government and also ordinary Congolese, not only the spirit of genuine democracy and the respect for human rights, but to make the respect for human rights to become part and parcel of daily life in the country. It is not going to be easy, but Tresor is fit and well prepared for the job to defend human rights, in a country where abuses are encouraged and supported by the government. He will above all, succeed because he doesn’t only love what he is doing, he is a methodic and strategic thinker.

Amédée Bernard Nganga: Profile of a legal or judicial Robin Hood

Amédée Bernard Nganga: He is a lawyer and human rights activist. And importantly, he is the antithesis of Cephas Germain Ewangui. Why? It is simply because, while Amédée Bernard Nganga is a genuine human rights and prodemocracy activists, Cephas Germain Ewangui is a fake human rights and prodemocracy activists. Ewangui works for the government whereas Nganga works for the people. He is a legal or judicial Robin Hood. And because lawyer Nganga is genuine, hence he is constantly harassed by a regime that doesn’t stand people like him. He is brilliant, bold and independent minded. Amédée Bernard Nganga is a member of the France and Congo Bar Councils. He is amongst the very few lawyers in the country who won’t trade their legal positions or professions for money. In short, his integrity is not for sale. His boldness has been demonstrated by the fact that, like his colleague and friend, Herve Ambroise Malonga, he is willing to defend lost cases such as the trial of Colonel Marcel Nstourou. For all the theatrics staged by the government around the trial of Colonel Marcel Nstourou and others, accused of having caused the March 4^th 2012 explosions, that took place in an ammunition depot, north of Brazzaville, everyone knew that, the verdict would be a miscarriage of justice. And this was confirmed by the fact that, the government immediately appealed the ruling of the Brazzaville high court and appointed new judges, who were not independent. His positions on social issues more often, put him at odd with the government. The fact that, he is constantly at war or loggerhead with the government that doesn’t want  independent minded  journalists and also that doesn’t want to have an independent judiciary, is a testament to his resolve and unshakable stands against injustice.

The excessive use of force or overreactions from the government from any social demands from the population is an indication that, the regime is on the brink of collapse, hence their brutality.  On the 29^th of April 2015, he was suspended from the Congolese Bar Council, by the Supreme Court on the instructions of the Minister of Justice, Aime Emmanuel Yoka. His suspension means he is banned from legal practice in the country.  According to the ruling or communiqué, from the ministry of Justice, Lawyer Nganga was banned because of insults and use of derogatory languages toward the Supreme Court and its decisions. Put simply, Lawyer Nganga was not satisfied with the verdict of the Supreme Court on his client, Colonel Marcel Nstourou. His crime was to have openly voiced his dissatisfaction.  Lawyer Nganga who is currently in exile in France, because his life was no longer safe in Congo, after his home was attacked by government thugs, still has major a role to play in Congo and his boldness and refreshingly joyous characteristic, is an aspect seldom seen from people like him, who are subject of persecution from an intolerant and autocratic regime. Amédée Bernard Nganga is also known as the smiling lawyer and respected by his peers, top among them, is former Justice Minister and lawyer, Jean Martin Bemba. Regarding Amédée Bernard Nganga, Jean Martin Bemba simply says in french that: c’est un homme.

Cephas Germain Ewangui: Profile of a traitor to a honest course

Cephas Germain Ewangui: he is one of the major actors of Congo’s civil society organisations. And he is at the head of two civil society bodies namely: Fédération Congolaise des Droits de L’homme, in French or in English, Congolese Federation of Human rights Defense Group, abbreviated in French as FECODHA and the Forum de la Société Civile pour les Elections Libres et Transparentes or in English, Civil Society Forum for Free, Fair and Transparent Elections, abbreviated in French as FOSOCEL. Cephas Germain Ewangui is an apparently calm, intelligent and sincere looking man, who gives the impression of fighting tooth and nail for the defense and promotion of real democracy and the respect of human rights in Congo. But in reality, this man born on the 28^th of May 1963 in Brazzaville, as his Facebook page indicates, is everything but genuine. He is not working for the people. He is working for himself and the government.

Both organizations that he heads are not independent and seldom criticize the excess of the government, when it comes to flagrant human rights violations or abuses. While he passes for a pro-democracy activist and human right defender, his organisations seldom criticizes the government on the wanton arrest, expulsion of journalists or the unjustifiable suspension and closure of media houses in Congo. What he is instead more interested in, is to travel around the world and attend meetings and seminars with the sole aim to prop up the image of the government. In order to trick Congolese and the international community, he sometimes issues lukewarm critical communiqués against the government followed by Press Conferences where pressmen and women are paid and then broadcast widely on state owned media. He is curiously the only head of civil society organization in Congo, who is never arrested and who is strangely always present in the office of General Jean Francois Ndenguet, the inglorious head of the Congolese Police Force.  He is also more interested in obtaining influential posts of responsibilities within the Congolese government created National Human Rights Council. As the head of two civil society organizations, he would have normally played middle or meditating roles, by criticizing the positions or excesses of the government and also that of the opposition.

But he is mute and instead plays the role of trying to give a semblance of fairness to the government of Congo. Hence he appears mostly whenever the government of Congo is facing international condemnation for its recurrent human rights abuses, like what is currently going on the south of Brazzaville and the Pool region. The organisations that, he represents falls in line with Congo government’s strategy to eliminate or crowd out real civil society organisations, who are capable or who are denouncing government excesses. Furthermore, the strategy of the Congolese government is that of numbers. They have created several fictitious civil society organisations, foundations and political parties, to give a false impression to the international community, especially western governments that; there is real democracy and freedom of speech in the country. The Congolese government just as some of its citizens, in particular its elite, are professionals in dissimulation. In fact, it is rumored that, his organizations are sponsored by Jean Dominique Okemba, the nephew and special adviser to the President of the Republic. The reason why Jean Dominique Okemba is allegedly sponsoring the civil society organizations of Mr Ewangui, as he does with hundred others is simple. It is to counter the influence of real civil society organizations in the country and whose leaders and members, are often subject of police brutalities and persecution.

I have personally seen him in the office of the former minister of Communications, Bienvenu Okiemy, when he came to plead with the minister to do all he could, in order to permit or facilitate his appointment as second or first vice chair at the Congo’s National Human Rights Commission, which is headed by Jean Martin Bemba. Paradoxically, the government has on several occasions wanted to arrest Mr Bemba, simply because, he wanted to apply to the letter, the rules and regulations of the organization that, he is heading. One of such rules requires independence and strict neutrality. Something the government doesn’t want in practice. Cephas Germain Ewangui, although calm and seemingly intelligent, is sadly amongst the many Congolese, who out of greed are destroying the credibility of civil society organizations and also holding back the progress of democracy and the respect of human rights, simply because, they are supporting the government’s duplicity.

He is a traitor to the honest course and quest for real democracy and the respect for human rights that a majority of Congolese so crave. Because of his treachery, Cephas Germain Ewangui will not have any role to play in a Congo that will be equitable. However, he could have a role, if he confesses of his sins and exposes also those who sponsored him and their tactics and more importantly, expose others like him, who benefited or are benefiting from the inhumane tactics of the government of Denis Sassou Nguesso.  

Herve Ambroise Malonga: Profile of the advocat of lost causes

Herve Ambroise Malonga:  he is a pro-democracy activist and a courageous lawyer, who is frequently jailed for his positions that oscillates between pure legal matters and political domains. Herve Amboise Malonga is a true lover and supporter of real democracy and freedom of speech in Congo. He is among those fighting to have an independent judiciary in Congo and for that; he is marginalized by the current government. The current government doesn’t want to have an independent justice system. His courage has forced him to stand as lawyer for clients whose court cases are considered as lost, because the government is always determine that free and fair trials are seldom held or rendered in her courts , which are in reality  kangaroo courts. He has been a lawyer in many high profile cases in Congo. The well known are: the beach massacre trial, known in French as “Les disparu du Beach” and more recently, he was also amongst the group of lawyers defending Colonel Marcel Nstourou. No matter how courageous and competent he is, Maitre Herve Ambroise Malonga has his own short comings that, I have observed. As a person, he seems excellent and easy going and as already mentioned, professionally, he is competent. But my observations are that, sometimes he acts as though, he is not very sure of himself and in other occasions, he seems very negligent. Perhaps it is because of the pressure and physical as well as psychological persecutions that he receives from the government that alters his professional outputs in some courts cases that he handles.  Hence, it is believed or suspected that, in most cases or trials that he has lost, it is not necessarily because the government wanted or intervened or does not want to deliver honest verdict.  While the Congolese judiciary is not independent,  it is however honest to point out that, most of the time, when Herve Malonga loses a court case, it is because, he seldom prepares his defenses properly, and the primary reason being his addiction to alcoholism, while the secondary reason can be attributed to government interventions to cause miscarriage of justice.

He is sometimes also unpredictable and at times incoherent. It might also partly explain the reason why, he is no longer given lead role in high profile court cases. The professional incoherence and absence of concentration from the part of Malonga has not only made him to lose his luster, some of his colleagues are even distancing themselves from him.  One of such is Jean Martin Bemba. Mr Jean Martin Bemba is a former justice minister of Congo and now an arch rival to the president of the Republic. Jean Martin Bemba became the state enemy of because he is opposed to President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s plans to change the January 20^th 2002 constitution. Jean Martin Bemba, once  told me in french this : Maitre Herve Ambroise Malonga  est bon, mais je ne lui faire plus de confiance, car il bois trop. Or in English: Lawyer Herve Ambroise Malonga is an excellent lawyer, but I no longer have confidence in him, because he drinks a lot. Whatever his sins, he is amongst the great Congolese pro-democracy and human right activist, who have paid a heavy price for standing up against the injustices of the current regime. He is therefore a person worth of praise and also worth counting upon in Congo currently and in the future. In order for democracy and the respect of rule of law to find a foothold in Congo, people like Herve Amboise Malonga are indispensable in spite their short comings.

Djibril Bopaka: Profile of a man who epitomizes all that has gone wrong with Denis Sassou Nguesso

El hadj Abdoulaye Djibril Bopaka: he is the head of the Muslim or Islamic Council of Congo and also a former member of the Cobra militia of Denis Sassou Nguesso during the 1997 civil war. He is also the head of a parallel union of owners of enterprises, whose locations and official registry are not known at the ministry of Commerce or at the Brazzaville Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Artisans. The head of the Brazzaville Chamber of Commerce is Paul Obambi. Mr Obambi can’t stand Mr Djibril, because of the duplicity of the second. El Hadj Abdoulaye Djibril Bopaka has the attitudes of rogues or gang leaders. All he does is to impress. One sign is what passes for the head quarters of his many organisations, located near the airport, in street named after him, Avenue Bopaka. It is not clear whether people just decided to call it after him or whether it is official.  On this street, he has constructed a large building, painted Green and White and on and around it, are flags of several countries. This self imposed leader of the Islamic community can’t also tell you whether he is a Sunni or Shia Muslim.  Mr Bopaka is truly a unique character that I have come across on several occasions. Djibril Bopaka for also the noises that he makes about his role during the civil, he is not known for having carried out any act of bravery or fought in any of the battle fronts.

However what he is well known for, are his feats in extortions, even at the height of the civil war. He operated mostly in Oyo, the home district of the President during the civil war. It is reported that, he was almost lynched by members of the President’s family, because of rackets that, he began organizing within the family. He took parcels and pretended to take them to Gabon to give the late Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba and those parcels never reached their destination. He also did the way when Edith gave him money and gifts for her family and they disappeared along the border between Gabon and Congo.  Another occasion that he was almost lynched was by the traders and fishermen population at the port of Oyo, but the timely intervention of Ambende, the late elder brother of Sassou Nguesso, saved Djibril from being thrown into the Alima River. The traders and fishermen of Oyo were already tired of his racketeering. Djibril Bopaka is an unsuccessful businessman, whose businesses survive simply because he claims to be close to the President of the Republic. The strange man of God and a so-called devoted Muslim doesn’t pay  those who work for him and also misappropriates funds that Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar sends for the expansion of Islam, the building of Mosques, schools and hospitals in Congo. His attitude is the cause of perpetual intra-Muslim confrontations, especially in Pointe Noire, where his authority is rigorously challenged within the Islamic community.   

Within the Muslim community, that he has imposed himself as their leader, he is contested. But because of his proximity with the president of the Republic, he is still the chair of the Islamic community. He is also a strange businessman. He is known to have started business by selling paints. The paint selling business, which he created was called “Bopaka Painture”. He is a man who spends his time to want to speak or imitate the way the president speaks and also organizes rackets of the West African Muslim business community who besides paying taxes to the government and the councils where they operate, they also pays another special tax or levy to Djibril, who claims to defend them. This special tax is called the “Bopaka impot” in French or Bopaka tax in English. He is a corrupt man who spends his time singing the praise and virtue of the fight against corruption. But whenever takes loan from banks, he doesn’t reimburse those loans. His is among those who have contributed in running down most commercial banks in Congo, because they refuse to pay back their loans and nothing happens to them. Currently, he is campaigning for the change of the constitution, for he knows that, in a system which is honest and transparent; his rightful place will be in jail. Yet, these are the type of people who pass for actors or head of civil society organisations in Congo, fighting against corruption or electoral frauds.  He is also a very incoherent man. On one hand, he is calls or advocates for the respect of the rule of law, while other, he wants the president to change the constitution. The only coherent thing that he does best is to find ways and means to line up his pocket. Djibril Bopaka epitomizes all that has gone wrong with the systemic corruption and absence of accountability that Denis Sassou Nguesso has allowed to prosper in Congo, under his rule or should I say, misrule.

Jean Marie Tassoua aka General Giap: profile of a former militia leader

Jean Marie Tassoua aka General Giap: He is the former minister of Energy and Hydraulics. He held that function from 1997-2002 and currently, pending his replacement, he is the chair of the Economic and Social Council of Congo. Jean Marie Tassoua is amongst the first supporters of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, when he decided to launch his rebellion against the democratically elected government of Professor Pascal Lissouba. The reason advanced by Denis Sassou Nguesso for having rebelled against the Congolese government was that, President Pascal Lissouba was violating or was not respecting the constitution of the country. Paradoxically, it is the very same sin that Denis Sassou Nguesso is trying to commit today. And during the 1997 civil war, it was in Jean Marie Tassoua’s, house that, Denis Sassou Nguesso was spending his nights in order to evade arrest from government forces. Besides his house serving as hideout to former warlord Denis Sassou Nguesso, that same house or home of Jean Marie Tassoua also became the headquarters of the Cobra militia. And during the 1997 civil war, jean Marie Tassoua became one of the Cobra militia leaders along with late General Blaise Adoua. The commandant of the Cobra militia was Denis Sassou Nguesso.  And it was after the ferocious battle to capture a mountainous neighborhoods north of Brazzaville, called Cite des 17, that Jean Marie Tassoua was nicknamed by Denis Sassou Nguesso as General Giap.

This was because, the Cobra militia that where under the command of Jean Marie Tassoua had very little weaponry, men and more, they demonstrated an exceptional gallantry. For the Cobra militia under Jean Marie Tassoua fought and defeated the national army at the battle of Cite des 17. In that battle, the national army was backed by the Cocoye militia.  The Cocoye and the Aubervillois were two militia groups created by President Pascal Lissouba, who no longer had confidence in the national army. In spite having small and light weaponry, the Cobras under Jean Marie Tassoua got the upper hand, paving the way  for the control of the strategic hills overlooking, Brazzaville, the capital.  As for the real General Diap or Võ Nguyên Giáp, that Tassoua was named after, he was born according to the online dictionary Wikipedia on the 25 August 1911 and died on 4 October 2013. He was a General in the Vietnam People's Army and a politician.

He first grew to prominence during World War II, where he served as the military leader of the VietMinh resistance against the Japanese occupation of Vietnam. Giap was a principal commander in two wars: the Firs Indochina War (1946–54) and the Vietnam War (1960–75). He participated in the following historically significant battles: Lạng Sơn (1950), Hòa Bình (1951–52),Điện Biên Phủ (1954), the Tết Offensive (1968), the Easter Offensive (1972), and the final Ho Chi Min Campaign (1975). Although Jean Marie Tassoua is a loyalist of the President, he is a disappointed man. He once told me in his office that, the president has allowed himself to be taken hostage by his children and family members at the expense of his true friends. He is convinced that President Denis Sassou Nguesso will end up sooner or later like Marien Ngouabi. That is, assassinated by his family members. On the  issue or the debate on constitutional change, which might prolong the presidency of Denis Sassou Nguesso, like many  friends or former friends of the president, he says, they will support the president on condition that, he opts to work with those who had helped him to come to power in 1997. Jean Marie Tassoua is being accused by people of the southern parts of the city of Brazzaville and the Pool region of having ordered his Cobra militia to ransack and pillage the regions after the 1997 civil war.

While admitting that, the Cobra militia committed some atrocities or pillaged the aforementioned region, he says that, he was not the head of the Cobra militia. The head of the Cobra militia is the current president. He concludes: all I know is that, I was given instruction to allow the Cobra militia to loot the conquered regions for two weeks. But it went beyond the agreed period and some atrocities were committed besides looting. However, that was the only way that we could pay the Cobra militias, for we had no money. We were at war. Jean Marie Tassoua is different from most Congolese elite that I have met in one thing. He is not only hard working and well read. He also comes to work very early. That is, precisely at 6 am every weekdays. He is also unique in that, he doesn’t have a triple personality as most other elite. He is candid albeit sometimes sharp tongue and tempestuous. Therefore, he is a person who could in spite his age, play a grand role in the stability of the country and also influencing the President not to tinker with the constitution, for he also has the capacity to raise a militia that might pose problems to the stability in the country. That is, if he wants to. But, I am not sure he still has such desires. For all his military successes during the 1997 civil war, Jean Marie Tassoua, I must point out is a civilian and an economist by profession.

Joe Washington Ebina: Profile of a sincere, hardworking and patriotic man

Joe Washington Ebina: if there is one man in Congo, who represents or symbolizes hope in the future, it is Joe Washington Ebina. For Congo is a country whose youths: male and female, have been destroyed by the communist oriented government of Denis Sassou Nguesso. Those currently ruling Congo have made Congolese to believe only in money and not in hard work. Hence, it is a country of professional lairs, hypocrites and lazy people.  These set of people are not just unique to Congo. They are certainly found all over the world. However, proportionally to their population, the number or percentage seems to be higher. Anyway, it is my opinion. And interestingly, it is not a gospel truth. Congolese are all too often vulnerable to corruption, hence the high level of betrayal. It also has perhaps the laziest youths the world.  Its women and in particular, those born between the 70s and the 90s, are also perhaps the less ambitious in Africa and also the world.  The corrupt rich and powerful old men, almost all belonging to the ruling PCT party, have spoiled Congolese women. They have made them to think that, they can only cultivate and embellish their physiques and also be good in bed, as their only route to be successful in life. This part will be developed more on the chapter on Congolese culture. But Joe Washington Ebina is different.  And it is refreshing because, it is an indication that, there might be many like him, who have not shown up or made themselves known. He believes in hard work and has the selfless spirit to sacrifice for others. He is the chair of the Ebina Foundation.

He was born with a golden spoon, because, his father, Joseph is besides Pierre Otto Mbongo, the only two known self made rich men in that country. Even though from a wealthy family, he is simple and accessible.  The Ebina Foundation is one of the few real humanitarian or philanthropic oriented foundations in Congo. It is different from the thousand and one fictitious foundations, created by the children, family members and friends of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The only aim of those fictitious foundations, are to prop up their soiled individual and collective images and also that of their father, uncle and friend, at home and abroad. Unfortunately for the friends, children and nephews of the president, who are professional copycats devoid of any inventive or creative skills, their foundations has little or no impact locally and internationally. The Ebina Foundation is real because it truly helps or comes to the aid of the needy. I have seen or been a witness of its vast operational areas. It provides clean water to Congolese who are unable to have pipe-borne water. Sometimes, the quality of water provided by the state water utility, SNDE, in some neighbourhood of the capital and Pointe Noire, are so bad or poor that, even animals can’t drink.  Paradoxically, Congo lies along one of the longest rivers in the world, the River Congo. The country is also crisscrossed by several other rivers. But there are still parts of the city of Brazzaville and elsewhere in the country that have never seen water run through their taps or faucets, for at least, three years. The Ebina foundation also comes to the aid of children and people who can’t afford healthcare.

And it also provides thousands of scholarships to children from socially disadvantaged homes. In fact, it is a foundation that is helping to close the loopholes in the failed health, social and education systems of Congo. Besides running the Ebina Foundation, Joe Washington is also an active member of the Congolese civil society organisations. The civil society sector just like many others such as politics, has also been infiltrated, drowned and destroyed by the ruling Nguesso family. As they have done in the foundation sector, the ruling Nguesso family, have also created and funded several civil society organizations, with the sole aim of consolidating power and silencing dissent. But not all foundations created by the Nguesso ruling family members and friends of the president are fake. The only exception that, I know, is that which is chaired and funded by Edgard Nguesso. And it is called Fondation Generation Avenir. But a single swallow is not an indication that springtime is around. The existence of fictitious foundations and civil society organisations and political parties has seriously dented the credibility of civil society bodies in Congo. Interestingly, the civil society organisations in which Joe Washington Ebina is a member are genuine ones. He is a leader with an extraordinary federating attraction. Even though he is a native of the north of the country, his appeal is nationwide.

Besides his voluntary work against the needy and the marginalized, he is also a real pro-democracy activist, who loves and supports freedom of speech and abhors dictatorship. In a country where there is no free speech and where personality cult has been elevated into a state religion, it is refreshing to have a young man who is ready to put his life on the line for others and also hold democratic values. It is a rare quality in a country and in a sub region, where people metaphorically speaking, want to go to heaven, but none is ready to die. As at now, Mr Ebina focuses his attention on social issues like the repairs of lifts at the Brazzaville University Teaching Hospital, CHU, which is in an appalling professional infrastructural and hygienic state. He also spends time raising funds to purchase stand by generators for the Makelekele hospital located south of Brazzaville or coming to the aide of people and children suffering from albinism and other ills. Even though he is suspected by the government of having political ambitions, he has not yet made up his mind.

However, when he will decide to get involved in politics, it would change the dynamics and it would certainly have a positive impact. His role within the minuscule Congolese civil society organisations, gives hope in a country where, civil society organisations are almost none existent. For what passes for civil society organizations are in reality working for or in support of the government. In my humble opinion, Joe Washington Ebina is a sincere, hardworking and patriotic man, who believes in Congo’s future and more, he also believes in what he is doing.  That explains why his appeal goes beyond tribal and regional lines and this partly explains the reason why, he is hated by the President of the Republic. For the President can’t stand or hates to see any Congolese who is nationally popular. The attitude of President Denis Sassou Nguesso toward popular individuals or in this case, Joe Washington Ebina, whom he has instructed General Jean Francois Ndenguet to arrest on several occasions, is similar to the biblical example of King Saul and David.  In the view of Denis Sassou Nguesso, any popular Congolese or not, is a threat to his aspired eternal rule. Joe Washington Ebina is already playing a major role in the country. Even though he is regularly harassed and arrested by the police, because his actions raise consciousness and awareness of Congolese youths, he is not discouraged or consumed by fear. He will certainly be among those who will play greater role in the transformation of Congo democratically in the future.

Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes: profile of a Congolese Liberal

Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes: he is an economist by profession and a graduate of the Paris Dauphine University. He is also a former staff of Ernst and young. Mr Fylla is every inch a modern day politician in a country whose political practices is everything but modern. It is a country of paradox. It doesn’t have free press, but its government sponsors international media outlets such as the newly inaugurated Africanews, which is a subsidiary of Euronews. Political opponents are either killed, arrested and tortured as is currently the case with all those who were against the change of the constitution or who ran against Denis Sassou Nguesso in a an election, that he lost but stole the victory of the people. That might explain the reason why Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes, affectionately known as “Nick”, doesn’t succeed and is also not understood by the people. No one knows for sure where he stands. Is he supported by Denis Sassou Nguesso or does he support the popular calls for Denis Sassou Nguesso to step-down? The only aspect where Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes is very clear on is his political orientation or ideology, which is also that of his party. He is a liberal.  He is besides Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas of the MCDDI and Hellot Matson Mampouya of the DRD, the only other political party leader whose political party’s orientation is liberal in Congo. Perhaps others do exist, but Guy Brice, Hellot Matson and Fylla de Saint Eudes are the only threesome that I have met and who clearly assumes without fear or shame that, they are liberals.

The name of his political party is:  Partie Democratique et Liberale Congolais or Congolese Liberal and Democratic Party, abbreviated in French as PDLC. Although he is very popular throughout the city of Brazzaville and beyond, his political base is located in the cosmopolitan and populous neighborhood of Poto-poto.  Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes showed that he was very popular and could also scuttle any government plans if he wanted to, in 2007. That year, he frustrated President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s plans to impose Jean De Dieu Kourissa as MP for the Poto-poto electoral constituency. Jean De Dieu Kourissa is the son-in-law of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. In spite the use of soldiers to vote and massive rigging, Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes, defeated Jean De Dieu Kourissa to win the constituency. But the president of the Republic could not swallow the humiliation. He ordered that all means should be used to overturn the results. Fraudulently, Jean De Dieu Kourissa was elected or designated as MP for Poto-poto. But protest mounted by Mr Fylla caused riots in the locality rendering the constituency and party of the city chaotic zone. The government was forced to negotiate. It took days of intense negotiations between the ruling PCT party, before he (Fylla de Saint Eudes) could concede defeat. What he gave is known but what he was offered before he could concede has never been revealed.

And again, he frustrated plans by the government to impose a new urban scheme in the historic Poto-poto neighbourhood. And because of his protest, the government was forced to abandon its plans, which would have resulted in massive expropriation of people from their properties.  This shows that, if he were to take up an extreme posture toward the regime of Denis Sassou Nguesso, he could pose a major problem to the system. However, why is he sometimes ambiguous politically? Arlette Soudan-Nonault thinks she has the answer. She says, Fylla de Saint Eudes is not ambiguous, but he is a political realist, for he understands that the balance of power is not in his favour but on the side of the President.  Personally, I think, he acts the way he does, because of two things. The first being that, he understands or knows how violent the President is and second, the proximity between his mother and the president of the Republic waters down any fire that wanted or wants to burn in him against the corrupt and violent government of Denis Sassou Nguesso. But he has also told me that, his plan to rule Congo is set for 2023. Strangely, it also coincides with the period floated around by Arlette Soudan Nonault, as the time when Denis Sassou Nguesso is expected to leave power and also the speculated period when, a new political class, that are free from vengeance and rancor would have taken over or replaced the old rancorous and vengeful class. 

Mr Fylla de Saint Eudes’s party is also one of the rare political formations in Congo to be present all over the country. He is mindful of his real strength and also that of the current ruling party and that of its president. Hence, as already stated, he doesn’t want any kind of open or frontal confrontation with Denis Sassou Nguesso. President Nguesso is a man who doesn’t like anybody whom he perceives as challenging his rule. He is a real dictator. Mr Fylla de Saint Eudes, besides being close to Denis Sassou Nguesso, he is also close to t opposition leader, Mathias Dzon. Fylla de Saint Eudes has even tried to play a mediation role between President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his erstwhile friend and protégé, former finance Minister Mathias Dzon. But that attempt at reconciliation failed in spite using their common freemason Mr Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes who is currently a senator and head of the economy and finance commission at the senate, harbor plans to run for presidential elections again in 2023, because at that time, Denis Sassou Nguesso would have certainly been exhausted and would not be able to run.

Jean Itadi: profile of a Peace-maker

Jean Itadi: he was the former minister of Energy under the government of Pascal Lissouba and also a former member of UPADS, the former ruling party. I have once interviewed this admirer of the late former South African president, Nelson Mandela. And I discovered during our interview that, he is a man, he who not only masters his subject, he also has a keen knowledge of the political situation and social engineering of the country. Furthermore, I also noticed during our interview that, he an easy going intelligent man who seems to habour no rancor against the current regime. His only preoccupation is real reconciliation and forgiveness. Both in his opinion are perquisites for long-lasting peace, stability and economic growth, which the country needs, if she wants to succeed in its fights against poverty and youth unemployment. While he wants his friends to forgive those who overthrew them from power in 1997, he also thinks that, the over hyped reconciliation virtue of the current rulers, is in reality cosmetic. In the opinion of Jean Itadi, real peace and real reconciliation can only be achieved when all those who went to exile in 1997, are allowed to return without any preconditions and properties seized from members of the former regime are returned. Unlike other ministers in the overthrown regime, such as Victor Tamba-Tamba or Christophe Moukoueke, Jean Itadi is relatively young.

He was born on the 24^th March 1949 and he still seems to have a political future in Congo, even under President Denis Sassou Nguesso. For president Denis Sassou Nguesso might need his presence and experience in his plan to “renew” the political class, in case he succeeds to change the constitution. But what is still doubtful, is whether by using a member of the former regime whose credibility and popularity is yet to be tested, will be an excellent political calculation for Denis Sassou Nguesso. However since Jean Itadi came back from exile in South Africa, he has been living in a hotel located near the Brazzaville international airport. His stay there is not because he is afraid to stay in town proper or it is his desire to be close to the airport, which might be an easy escape route, in case of attack. He lives at the Hotel de l’aeroport or Airport Hotel, simply because, all his properties were confiscated by the new regime of Denis Sassou in 1997. Some people claim that, he is the owner of the said hotel where he has been residing since he came back from exile. But, I have not had the chance to ask him whether he was the owner or whether, he was just a client. His prolonged stay in a rented hotel suit is not a sign of his opulence, but a stack remindal, reconciliation is not complete some 17 years after the violent overthrow of Pascal Lissouba. His proximity with Maurice Nguesso, the elder brother of Denis Sassou Nguesso has not facilitated the return of his properties seized when they were defeated.

Politically, he is close to Mathias Dzon and Clement Mierassa. But he has not been able to make any major impact within UPADS, the former ruling party, which is now controlled by Pascal Tsaty Mabiala. Perhaps he never wanted to spark another rift within the former ruling party or he was aware that, a fight for its leadership, would be a lost struggle, hence he decided to create a new political formation. His new political party is called Congres Africain Pour le Progres or in English, African Congress for Progress, abbreviated in French as CAP. He is not alone in the new formation. The other major names are Victor Tamba-Tamba and Christophe Moukoueke. In my opinion, the fact that, he has been able to attract two heavy weights of the former regime shows that, he still has some political capital. It is also a sign that, he wants to be independent from any pressure from his former friends. But the question that begs to be asked are these: will his new political party have any impact?

Does he have the financial strength to sponsor a new political party? And finally, while he might still have some ounce of credibility, is his association with controversial figures such as Victor Tamba-Tamba and Christophe Moukoueke not ruin the ambition of his party and also destroy his political capital? Until he or any other specialist of the Congolese political scene can give clear answers to the latter mentioned questions, only then could honest assessments of the full potentials of CAP be made. Associating with Mathias Dzon and Clement Mierassa is good, but it is not enough to give or tell where they stand ideologically. His future will be judged by or according the positions that he will take on controversial issues and how he will perform in any eventual elections, in particular, local and legislative elections. Jean Itadi is married and a father of several children. He is also a graduate of the Universities of Algiers and Marien Ngouabi of Brazzaville. 

Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas MP: Profile of the one presented as perhaps the best politician of his generation

Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas MP: he was until his dismissal from office, because he was openly against President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s plans to change of the constitution, a government minister. He was heading the ministry of Public service. He is still an MP for the centre right MCDDI political party.  His political formation is the second biggest intra parliamentary opposition after UPADS of Pascal Tsaty Mabiala. He might not be flamboyant politically, but he has two assets: he is the biological son of Bernard Kolelas. Late Kolelas was one of Congo’s most controversial but nonetheless, respected nationalist and staunchly opposed to Communism. The opposition of late senior Kolelas to Communism forced him into exile on several occasions and he also was jailed by almost all post independent political leaders of Congo.  Bernard Kolelas, the father of Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, was former prime minister of Pascal Lissouba, former MP for BasCongo and former lord mayor of the Brazzaville Greater City Council. The second asset of Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas is that, he is a native from a region that has perhaps the best trained or the most educated people in Congo with a high sense of tribal or ethnocentric unity. The people of the Pool region, because of their high literacy rate are considered Congo’s second colonial masters after France. Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas ethnic group is known as the Laris. They are the largest ethnic groups in the Pool region. Because they are not only better educated, they are also one of the most hardworking tribes in Congo, hence they are present all over the country.

During colonial times or period, they were mostly used as auxiliaries of the French, hence they are known as Congo’s second colonial masters. Furthermore, while about 80% of the country is Christian, the Pool is the only region in the country that has been able to produce its own indigenous religions that exist alongside Christianity. They also the proponents fashion or dressing style called “la Sapoulogie”, which has become one of Congo’s greatest cultural identity and export, besides music and literature. This shows how advance the people of the Pool region are, as compared to other parts of the country. Mindful of all the aforementioned regional and filial advantages, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, knows that, he has a future in Congolese politics with or without Denis Sassou Nguesso. There are some observers such as Leon Juste Imbombo who thinks that, by comparison with his cousin, Hellot Matson Mampouya, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas has no future without the alliance singed between his late father’s and Denis Sassou Nguesso. Personally, I think Leon Juste appraisal of Guy Brice is not honest or outright biased. But Alphonse Ndongo, a journalist, shares my point of view and thus has a different perception from those expressed by Leon Juste Imbombo. Alphonse Ndongo thinks, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas is the best political personality of his generation. And he adds: The fact that, he is calm and respectful and also slow to react on national or international issues, does mean that, he is weak or politically naïve.

As for Arlette Soudan-Nonault, she thinks that, while Guy Brice might be a formidable politician, he doesn’t respect, the political pact signed between his late father and Denis Sassou Nguesso. In the opinion of Mrs. Soudan-Nonault, Guy Brice is trampling upon or reneging on the memory of his late father and to her, it is not African such an attitude. Guy Brice rejects such accusations and says, he is not duty bound to honour any pact signed by his late father with Denis Sassou Nguesso, especially done in the weak position that his late father was and which might today not be in the interest of Congolese.  Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas is in my opinion unpredictable, which some might regard as a weakness, but it only adds to his mythic and political capital that he has inherited from his father. Unlike his father, he is not tribal or regionally oriented, even though as of now, his party seems regionally based. However to his discharge, the present political dispensation in the country where there is no free and faire elections might be the real deterrent to his party to expand beyond its Pool and Brazzaville fiefs. He is also different from his father not just because he is better educated, but more because he is open minded and tolerant, for his wife is an ethnic Mbouchi from Bondji and not from the Pool or Brazzaville regions as is the custom of many from his area.

The Mbouchi and the Lari are two enemy tribes in the country because of the opposing views of two of their best known contemporary sons: Bernard Kolelas and Denis Sassou Nguesso. Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas is a member of one of the country’s best known and well respected political dynastic family and who has been able to show that, he can make his way without the support of his late father. Behind his calm and efface demeanor, hides a formidable political phoenix. The eyeglass wearing and soft spoken man goes in trance, whenever he is addressing a public rally. Furthermore, he also masters macro and micro economic policies and has a clear cut economic programme for Congo. He is also one of the rare political leaders, who have a clear cut political ideology, for his party or the party that he inherited is a centre right movement. He is a practicing Christian and married. His party, abbreviated MCCDI, is a centre right political formation, in a predominantly communist oriented and centre left leaning country, at least as portrayed by most political leaders and their parties.  

Hellot Matson Mampouya: Profile of a potential rising political star

Hellot Matson Mampouya: he is the current minister of Post and Telecommunications and Digital Technology and also the leader of a political party known in French as Dynamique Republicain pour la Democratie abbreviated DRD. He is the only government minister of Denis Sassou Nguesso, besides Jean Richard Bruno Itoua, that I know, who not only ostensibly displays his bible in his office but who also talks a lot about God. He is an assertive Christian.  But had he any other choice than to be an assertive Christian? For he is subject of all kinds of attacks from his rival, hence I think, his only refuge is the bible and Christianity.  His biblical verse of choice is the book of Psalms 27:14. He is also very eloquent. Hence he used to be the spokesperson of late Bernard Kolelas, who is considered as his mentor and God father. Mr Mampouya who is a native of the Pool region is a former member of the MCDDI party.  This party which is a centre right party was founded by Bernard Kolelas and his now headed by his son Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas. Mr Mampouya has several accusations against him and this comes mostly from his political opponents who were his erstwhile friends. He is accused by Landry Kolelas, who is currently the minister of Commerce of not being a native or national of the Republic of Congo. Mr Landry Kolelas claims that, Mr Mampouya is a national of neighboring DRC, where Bernard Kolelas, their late father spent most of his early period of political exile.

But the reality as Hellot Mampouya once told me  is that, he was born in Kinshasa on the 7^th of February 1964 and came back forcefully in Brazzaville in 1964 because, Congolese were expelled from the DRC by the government of late former Prime minister Moise Tshombe. He told me that, the fact that, he was born in the DRC doesn’t make him a DRC citizens. Politically, his ascension was prepared by late Bernard Kolelas, who was his mentor and God Father. But his current ministerial post is not the wish of his former party but the wish of the ruling party, whose aim is to weaken the MCDDI party in their stronghold of the Pool region.  But the ruling PCT in their attempt to weaken the centre right MCDDI Party, they have created in Hellot Matson Mampouya, a formidable political force that may someday, pose a greater threat to the ruling party.

For Hellot Matson Mampouya unlike his cousin Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, doen’t wants his party the DRD to remain a regional or tribal base political party. His ambition is to make the DRD to be become a party of nationwide appeal. And the ministry of basic education that he was formerly heading and now the ministry of Post and Telecommunications are being used not only to coordinate and help grow the quality of the Congolese educational system, but his ministry or government positions are mostly used to lay the political foundation for his personal ambitions. He is not the first government minister to use the same method, to spread political influence nationally.  The well known one is former government minister Andre Okombi Salissa.  Mr Salissa was also at the head of the same ministry for 12 years and used it to create a network of loyal supporters around the country. According to Leon Juste Imbombo, a political analyst: in financing or supporting Hellot Matson Mampouya against his cousin, Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas, it was the greatest strategic error made by the ruling party. Leon Juste Imbombo adds that: Mr Mampouya is a rabble-rouser and a hard working ambitious political figure unlike his cousin. Leon Juste Imbombo might be accusing the ruling PCT for having created a potential rival, however, there are people such as Arlette Soudan-Nonault who are of the opinion that, Hellot Matson Mampouya is the creation of Jean Dominique Okemba, in his plans to govern or over throw Denis Sassou Nguesso. Hellot Matson Mampouya is therefore a force to reckon with presently and in the future, for his true potentials is yet to be reached or achieved. Should the government make an error to sideline him, he will become the greatest adversary of the regime. 

Pierre Mabiala MP: Profile of an opportunist government minister

Pierre Mabiala MP: he is a government minister and Member of Parliament for Makabana electoral constituency, located in the Niari region of southern Congo. Like most new converts, he zealously shows that, he is in support of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his ruling party, the PCT. He is combative and always willing to come and take part in radio and television for debates or shows, which has something to do with the defense and promotion of the President or to talk about his ministerial department. That is perhaps the only positive point that I have noticed with him unlike other government ministers. But in spite his zealotry in calling for the change of the constitution, which will permit the President to stand for a third  mandate , that he is constitutionally barred, he is not love or respected within the ruling party, especially by the loyal supporters and some family members of the president of the Republic. Why? The reason is simple. They claim that, the same zeal with which he is now showing or manifesting for the current president was the same, which he did when he was working for the only post independent democratically elected President of Congo, Professor Pascal Lissouba. But Pierre Mabiala rejects such accusations and suspicions that he is subjected to, with a wave from his large palm. He says, he is a changed man today and has witnessed the changes carried out by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, since he violently took power in 1997.

Hence, he is now his fanatical supporter. He also says that, all those scheming against him are simply jealous of his proximity to the President of the Republic. Pierre Mabiala is therefore considered by some loyalists of the President as a traitor, who will betray the President of the Republic again, should the opportunity shows up.  Another character of Pierre Mabiala is that, he a very bellicose man who doesn’t entertain contradictions. But, he is nonetheless generous, whenever he wants to and this especially toward women who are faire in complexion. At his ministry, he is always seen on the field supervising work and seldom likes to delegate responsibilities to his directors or close collaborators. While some people do appreciates his presence on the field, which is almost always accompanied with TV crews others are of the opinion that, his professional activism is an indication of his eccentric attitude or a desire to please the president. Some eve think that, his conduct  exposes and confirms the country as dictatorship, for as a member of the executive branch of government, he is regularly seen ordering homes and other structures to be demolished without due process or waiting for  court orders or the judiciary to adjudicate.  Whenever he is out to operate, he is always dressed in his trademark Texas Cowboy hat and dons an orange over-roll. He supervises demolitions of buildings wantonly and sometimes orders demolished buildings and houses to be vandalized. It is perhaps the only time when his former populists and extreme left leanings reflex, reappears.  

His collaborators describe him as a living terror. They can’t challenge him or make any proposals, for his reign in his ministerial department is synonymous to that of a bully. A former university trade unionist and lawyer, Pierre Mabiala is an opportunistic political figure with no clear cut ideology or principles. All that he is interested in is to get rich and also place his family and some of his very few chosen friends beyond wants. It is reported that, he tells everyone within his region who wants to hear that, he hates President Denis Sassou Nguesso and also that, he can never forget what the current President did to Pascal Lissouba.  Those who propagate the above also claims that, even adds that, if he has any chance to betray the Denis Sassou Nguesso, whom, he referred to in an interview that I conducted with him as the “younger brother” to Pascal Lissouba, he won’t hesitate. What he says in private in a country where there is no secret and where everyone spies on everyone, definitely comes to the ears of people who hate him. And it becomes fuel in the tanks of his enemies. What he has said or not, positively or negatively against the president is exactly the reason why, no one within the ruling party believes in him, perhaps only the President of the Republic. He also claims to be a nephew to Maurice Nguesso, the elder brother of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

But he fails to justify his filial relationship through genealogy, tribe or region. What he has stopped short is to change his tribe to become an ethnic Mbouchi, the tribe of the President of the Republic. He is a classic example of most Congolese elite: triple personage. He says a thing, acts differently and thinks differently. He is also a professional praise singer to the President and like most politicians and elite in Congo, he is indecisive and also an inveterate womanizer. Every young girl or woman, in particular those who are light skin, he promises the newly elected a trip to Pointe Noire and a furnished rented apartment. Although he is not liked by bona fide members of the ruling party and also by some members of the ruling Nguesso family, he could still play a role in Congolese politics as far as Denis Sassou Nguesso is still in power, for he has made himself indispensable, even though in politics, like in life, no one is indispensable. But after President Denis Sassou Nguesso is gone from power, I doubt whether he would have any future or role to play in the Congolese political realm.

This is so because; he has created a lot of enemies, because of the zeal with which he has invested in demolishing the homes of people in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire in a bid to respect the national and urban construction master plan. He is also accused of land grab by some Congolese. While what he is doing in his ministerial department as far as the respect of urban master plan is noble and courageous, some people think that, he is selective. For he acts without mercy against people who are not well connected or poor. But he is careful and respectful with the rich and powerful. He doesn’t force people who well connected to respect the urban master plan of the country. They are not mistreated and spoken down to, as he does with the poor. There are others who think nonetheless that, Pierre Mabiala is being used or exploited by President Denis Sassou Nguesso, hence he has given him a ministerial post that requires him to do or deliver very unpopular task: respect of the national urban master plan. In order for it to work or in order for the policy to be implemented in a country that has seen rapid population growth, massive demolitions of homes are inevitable. And this is a very unpopular task in a country where people are poor.  How or what will you or will he tell a family head, who saved throughout his life to buy a plot of land and erect a dwelling for his family, that, his hard earned home, will be demolished because he/she has not respected the country’s urban master plan? Where do they go to after their homes have been destroyed?  Such is the mammoth task that, Pierre Mabiala shoulders and he seems to enjoy it, at least, in public.