Congo:1968 rectification coup d’état

And since the 1968 coup d’état, led by Commandant Marien Ngouabi, northerners have taken their revenge over the southerners. But the northern revenge over southern Congolese is ephemeral. It last because northerners have guns and they are backed by France. In short northern domination of Congo is not solid one, because most northerners don’t go to school and those who go, don’t succeed or past   based on merit. They control power through corruption, the buying of loyalty and through the use of brutal force. The 1968 Coup d’état was not a counter revolutionary coup against the scientific Socialism or the excesses of the Bantu Communism of Alphonse Massamba-Debat as claimed by supporters of Marien Ngouabi.  The 1968 coup d’état was in reality, a “rectification coup d’état”. It was stage, more to correct or right, the “wrongs” of the dominations of southerners over the northerners, which began since the advent of colonialism and continued immediately after independence from France on the 15^th of August 1960.

This was how Alain Akouala told me, was the yardstick behind the 1968 coup d’état orchestrated by Marien Ngouabi, who is paradoxically, the most popular Congolese leaders.  Marien Ngouabi was an exceptional northerner. He was not arrogant. He had an ideal as opposed to the lustful ones now governing the country. The truth is that, southern Congolese are different culturally from northern Congolese. Southerners are more enterprising and enjoy going to school and as such are more westernized. Whereas, the northern Congolese is lazy, enjoys easy life and are mostly traditionalists and cherry picks Judeo-Christian values to practice. They are fickle. They are brutal and have an insatiable love for women, power and money. Hence, they are more pruned to corruption, than others.  The death of Marien Ngouabi in March 1977 and also those of Alphonse Massamba-Debat and Monsignor Emile Biayenda are the three unresolved deaths in the country.  I noted two fundamental paradoxes in Congo. The first is that, it was the northern Marien Ngouabi who seized power in 1968 for reasons abovementioned.

But Marien Ngouabi was killed by the same northerners who do not even care today to think about him. In other words, most northerners are an ungrateful lot, Denis Sassou Nguesso being a prime example. And the second major paradox with Congo is that, it was a Marxist country and Marxism was a system that encouraged egalitarian culture.  Strangely, it is hard to see women at the top echelon of anything. If they are, it is almost impossible to find those lucky ones, who can speak and be capable to defend independently her responsibility. The reason is simple, most Congolese women, can’t succeed without tracing her success to have slept with a man or was propelled to a position because of family or tribal ties or affinity. But, the good thing is that, there some hardworking, independent and modern Congolese women. They are few and mostly trained out of the country or may have stayed with foreigners.  And it was refreshing for me to have met the few independent, modern, hardworking and intelligent Congolese women and I am profiling them in this book.  

Marien Ngouabi or simply a Congolese tragedy

According to Anani Rabier Bindji, the plot hatched by Denis Sassou Nguesso to distant Joachim Yhombi-Opango from Marien Ngouabi was just a ruse from Denis Sassou Nguesso to have a free way to do whatever he wanted against Marien Ngouabi. He was euphemistically claiming that, Denis Sassou Nguesso was the assassin of Marien Ngouabi. However, during another informal conversation that, I had with Anani Rabier Bindji, he told me something different. And it was as intriguing as the first story on the assassination of Commandant Marien Ngouabi. He told me that, Marien Ngouabi had decided to bring Denis Sassou Nguesso closer to him because he (Marien Ngouabi) was afraid of Joachim Yhombi-Opango. “Why?”  I asked. According to Anani Rabier Bindji, Marien Ngouabi and Joachim Yhombi-Opango are both from the same locality and he added that, Marien Ngouabi was afraid of Joachim Yhombi-Opango because, the second’s father was a dreaded witch doctor. Hence Marien Ngouabi in need for protection brought Denis Sassou Nguesso, near him because Denis Sassou Nguesso’s father was also a dreaded witchdoctor from Edou. And more, Denis Sassou Nguesso had already been introduced into witchcraft at the age of ten years old in the sacred forest of Edou.

In other words, Marien Ngouabi brought Denis Sassou Nguesso near him as a shield against any possible mythical attacks from Joachim Yhombi-Opango or his father. For it is well known that, children from parents with mythical powers are more often than not initiated into the mythical order of their parents. While it is not known whether Joachim Yhombi-Opango was initiated into any mythical order, but what is known as that, Denis Sassou Nguesso was initiated and he has proudly written about it. The bizarre aspect in this, is that, how on earth could it be possible for Denis Sassou Nguesso who was  called to act as a protector of Marien Ngouabi, decides to kill his protégé(Marien Ngouabi)? The secret may lie in another version on the reason why, Denis Sassou Nguesso may have decided to kill Marien Ngouabi and in this version, the cause has nothing political or ideological, but a mixture of jealousy and the biblical eve, who in this case is Antoinette, the current wife of Denis Sassou Nguesso.  However, I am of the opinion that, the truth may never be known because no one is interested in the truth to be known because at the end, it seems Marien Ngouabi had several enemies and all wanted him dead than alive.

It is simply a Congolese tragedy which is as confusing as the country and those running it. There are several versions and several suspects and causes, but one name that always stands accused is Denis Sassou Nguesso. One thing is clear, it will be almost impossible to know the truth on the assassination of Marien Ngouabi. It is also an assassination that also triggered assassinations of several other people and in particular, Alphonse Massamba-Debat and Arch Bishop Emile Biayenda. Then I asked him: “how come that, Denis Sassou Nguesso had a free hand to operate, the way you seem to have written?” He replied: “it was because; he was the Minister of defense and also in charge of security, since he had maneuvered for Joachim Yhombi-Opango to be sacked as Army Joint Chief of Staff and he was also the one who gave or detached aide camps to the officers including the president. 

Assasination of Marien Ngouabi: Home grown or commandeered from abroad

The funniest one was in 2009, while I was interviewing General Emmanuel Ngouelondele, who was a close friend and close collaborator of Commandant Marien Ngouabi and who is still wearing a wrist watch offered to him by Marien Ngouabi, I asked him bluntly during our interview: “who killed Marien Ngouabi?” He replied: “Go and ask your friend Denis Sassou Nguesso”.  General Emmanuel Ngouelondele Mongo worked with Marien Ngouabi from 1969 to 1975 and  in 2013 he published two volumes of his memoires that in total was 657 page in  titled in French as : Au service du Congo, mon Temoignage or in English: At the service of Congo, my testimony. But what stoke me with it was that, he was unable to give any clarity on the death Marien Ngouabi. He was evasive and there was nothing new in his book that would have helped Congolese and also stop the rumors, speculations and accusations and counter accusation prevailing in Congo. Either General Emmanuel Ngouelondele Mongo knows nothing about the assassination of his late former boss or he is just a coward and not an Army General as he likes to claim.

To his discharge, he is not the only one, for even General Joachim Yhombi Opango who was a victim twice of Denis Sassou Nguesso has been unable or not courageous enough to enlighten the public on the assassination of the one who not only made them to become what they all are today, but who above all, shifted the balance of power from the south to the undereducated and backward northern Congolese courtesy the 1968 Coup d’état. My opinion is that, either they were all accomplices shortchanged by Denis Sassou Nguesso or they are simply cowards. Perhaps the  attitude of General Emmanuel Ngouelondele Mongo is the reason why, there is also a rumor in Brazzaville, which has it that, one year before the assassination of Marien Ngouabi, Emmanuel Ngouelondele was sent to Paris by Denis Sassou Nguesso to explain or ask for France’s support in their planned  coup d’état against Marien Ngouabi. For Marien Ngouabi had become too nationalistic in the eyes of the French, hence they wanted him eliminated. Those claiming that, Emmanuel Ngouelondele knows something about the assassination of Marien Ngouabi also points out that, today; the Lord Mayor of the Brazzaville Greater City Council is Hughes Ngouelondele MP.

Hughes Ngouelondele is the son in law to the President and also the first son of the retired General Emmanuel Ngouelondele. Furthermore, the daughter of General Emmanuel Ngouelondele is married to Edgard Nguesso, the nephew of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. To those who want to accuse Denis Sassou Nguesso in the death of Marien Ngouabi, they also claim that, Emmanuel Ngouelondele has been compensated for his treachery.  The intermarriages between the Ngouelondele and the Nguesso, it is claimed in some circle in Brazzaville, is not by chanced, but a means to compensate Emmanuel Ngouelondele and the intermarriages  also  severs as collateral that the secret on the assassination of Marien Ngouabi will forever remain a secret. The assassination of Marien Ngouabi may have been carried out by Congolese, but it seems it was commandeered from abroad. 

Paris-Brazzaville:who killed Marien Ngouabi?

He continued: “In fact, I refused to become president because my time had not yet come, therefore, it was Joachim Yhombi-Opango who was co-opted to take over the military committee and title of head of state, with the main objectives being to restore peace and order and also return power to civilians”. Jean Marie Tassoua, former warlord and former minister of Energy and Hydraulics, told me that, Marien Ngouabi had become too family oriented and too tribal and that was the cause of his death. The claims of Jean Marie Tassoua aka General Diap, dents a little bit the nationalist and ant-tribal and anti-regionalist image often attached to Marien’s many positive qualities. Others also claims that, when Marien Ngouabi discovered that, his family and tribe were having an excessive influence around him and he wanted to relinquish power, hence he was killed by his own very people.   What Jean Marie Tassoua never told me was whether President Denis Sassou Nguesso took part or not, in the assassination or fomented the violent death of Commandant Marien Ngouabi.  However in Brazzaville and elsewhere in the country, many are of the opinion that, there is no way President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who was at that time, minister of defense and also in charge  of security could not have known that, his boss was not only in danger but risked being assassinated. 

In clear terms, most people in Congo are of the opinion that, it was Denis Sassou Nguesso, who assassinated Marien Ngouabi. But it must be pointed out that, no major or minor actor during that period has actually come out besides what President Denis Sassou Nguesso had written which is wafer thin to explain the cause of the death Marien Ngouabi. Be that as it may, one should not lose sight that, Congo is a country were lies, character assassinations and blackmail has been elevated into a profession. In other words, Congo is a country of professional liars. This is the only country in the world where lies can be transformed into truth and truth into lies. Hence, on the assassination of Marien Ngouabi, it will be almost impossible to know the truth and I have also abandon the search because I have tried and had a bewildering array of sometimes contradictory information.  Sometimes you begin to wonder whether all your interlocutors wanted Marien Ngouabi dead or that, they are all too afraid to say anything or also that, there a feeling of collective guilt. The funniest one was in 2009, while I was interviewing General Emmanuel Ngouelondele, who was a close friend and collaborator of Commandant Marien Ngouabi, who still has a wrist watch offered to him by Marien Ngouabi, I asked him bluntly: “who killed Marien Ngouabi?”

He replied: “Go and ask your friend Denis Sassou Nguesso”. For there is also a rumor in Brazzaville, which has it that, one year before the assassination of Marien Ngouabi, Emmanuel Ngouelondele was sent to Paris by Denis Sassou Nguesso to explain or ask for France’s support in their planned  coup d’état against Marien Ngouabi. For Marien Ngouabi had become too nationalistic in the eyes of the French, hence they wanted him eliminated. Those claiming that, Emmanuel Ngouelondele know something about the assassination of Marien Ngouabi also points out that, today; the Lord Mayor of the Brazzaville Greater City Council is Hughes Ngouelondele. Hughes Ngouelondele is the son in law to the President and also the first son of the retired General Emmanuel Ngouelondele. 

Paris-Brazzaville : Did Sassou Nguesso take part in the assasination of Marien Ngouabi and others?

Until those deaths are fully investigated and the culprits known, named, punished and publicly shamed, the future of Congo will always be on the brink.  As concerns the death of Marien Ngouabi, there are legions of speculations and suspicions regarding the death of one of Congo’s most popular leader. One such speculation was narrated to me by a military officer, still in function in Congo. He claimed that, it was President Denis Sassou Nguesso who assassinated Marien Ngouabi. His claims were music to my ears until one day; he related to me a story that I thought was convincing, but not solid enough to nail current President Denis Sassou Nguesso. While his story was not entirely convincing, it nonetheless has some cohesion, which warranted me to share it, in this book. This is so because Marien Ngouabi’s death along with the deaths of Bishop Emile Biayenda and Alphonse Massamba-Debat remains one of Congo’s greatest unsolved political deaths, since independence. Those deaths are clouded in a lot of mysteries, speculations and suspicions.  But while Denis Sassou Nguesso is being accused, two other people have completely absolved Denis Sassou Nguesso regarding the assassination of Marien Ngouabi.

The two people who told me point blank that, Denis Sassou Nguesso had nothing to do with the assassination of Marien Ngouabi are Mrs. Lydie Hortense Kourissa and a certain Mr. Mavougou. Mrs. Lydie Hortense Kourissa claims might be dismiss on the ground that, she is the niece of the President of the Republic of Congo. However, I believed her when she told me that, Denis Sassou Nguesso had nothing to do with the assassination of the one who contributed in making him (Denis Sassou Nguesso) to become what he is today. She added that: “On the day when Marien Ngouabi was killed, I saw how the President was crying and he was devastated”. Crying is not enough to absolve a person who is suspected for having committed a crime.  On the other hand, it must be sadly pointed out that, crying could also mean several things at the same time.  For it could be that, he was crying of joy or of sadness. Nevertheless, I believed what Mrs. Kourissa told because, she is a practicing Christians. The second person to absolve President Denis Sassou Nguesso was Mr Mavougou, he told me: “there was no way Denis Sassou Nguesso could have been able to assassinate Marien Ngouabi”.

He added: “Marien Ngouabi was killed by his own very brothers of the Kouyou tribe who were his praetorian guards and they are the ones who asked Denis Sassou Nguesso to succeed Marien Ngouabi because, they had not agreed amongst themselves or selected the rightful person to replace Marien Ngouabi”.  Here again, there is a detail that, Mavougou forgot, but that Denis Sassou Nguesso brought up in his book in a weird and wonderful way. He wrote in Denis Sassou: Le Manguier, le Fleuve et la Souris, published in 1997, he (Denis Sassou Nguesso) doesn’t mention or corroborate what Mavougou told me, but he (Denis Sassou Nguesso)writes that: “as minister of defense, he was designated as interim president from 18^th of March 1977 to April 2^nd of the same year”.  And during this period, he continued: “I was not ready to assume the post of President of the republic and more, I sensed that, there were others within the army who were better disposed than I to assume the function of president”. 

Paris-Brazzaville : My journey to Congo

The question that, I have always asked is this:  should the aforementioned leaders be forcefully overthrown or assassinated in order to give democracy a chance within the sub region?  It is a difficult question to answer. Furthermore, while I condemn leaders of the sub region, it is also honest to say that, without the help of western nations, these governments won’t have been in power for the length of time that they have. As far as I am concerned, it was during the period that, I do refer to as the turbulent phase of Telesud that Rynelle Kourissa, came to me again and insisted that, I should go and help her grandfather, Maurice Nguesso to set up his media house in Brazzaville.  While I accepted Rynelle’s proposals, what really made me to leave Paris for Brazzaville was a meeting that I had with Mrs. Lydie Hortense Kourissa at the Champ Elysees, located at 133 avenue des Champs-Elysees.  Our meeting was or took place in the restaurant section of the shopping mall. I can’t recall the day exactly, but all what I know is that, she called me and we booked an appointment for 4 pm. Mrs. Kourissa nee Lydie Hortense Nguesso is the eldest daughter of Maurice Nguesso.

And between the two Nguessos, that is Maurice and Denis, they have 48 children and countless grand children and great grand children. Lydie Kourissa is the oldest of them all. She therefore wields enough influence within the clan. But since she is a born again Christian, she is very meek and thrown aback. Christianity has whittled down any ounce of pride that, she might have had. Lydie Kourissa is light years away from the superciliousness demonstrated by her brothers, sisters and by her cousins of the ruling Nguesso family. She prefers to be called or identified only by the name of her husband, Mr. Jean de Dieu Kourissa MP. It is another feature that marks her out differently from her sisters who are married, but seldom carry the names of their husbands. It was with this soft spoken and respectful lady that I made an appointment, but strangely, I forgot to honor it. I could only remember that, we had an appointment, when she rang me again at around 6:30pm.

When she rang me, she told me this: “I have been waiting here since 3:30 pm and our appointment was at 4pm and now it is 6:30pm. If you don’t want to meet me, please tell me, for I am going back to Brazzaville tomorrow”. I just told her this: “Please I am sorry and I am on my way. I took a taxi from Conacq Jay to the Drugstore and met with her. I was so worried to have kept her waiting for too long, to a point that, I never argued much with her. Whatever she told me, I accepted. That was how my Paris work and stay ended and my Brazzaville adventure began. That was toward the end of 2010. But I began working officially for MNCOM in August 2011 and I held several functions within the media house before finally settling as the Director of MNTV and also Director of Studies and Planning of MNCOM, the parent company and name of the media group. But prior  to that meeting with Mrs. Lydie Hortense Kourissa and also the propositions and encouragement from Rynelle Kourissa as already mentioned, I had been coming to Congo since 2009 to cover some events, in particular, the pre-Presidential elections campaigns of 2009.  The person who facilitated everything was Colonel Chryst Bonaventure Engobo. Colonel Engobo is a highly secretive man who was one of the aide de camps of Commandant Marien Ngouabi.