Denis Sassou Nguesso & the 1989 UTA airliner bombing

In fact, President Denis Sassou Nguesso had never had plans to leave power and even in 1992, he conceded defeat to Pascal Lissouba simply because, he was under pressure from late President Francois Mitterrand,  following  his alleged complicity  with Muammar Gaddafi in the bombing of French UTA airliner over the  Tenere desert in Niger in 1989. I was told by a person in Brazzaville whom I promised never to release his identity. The same source also told me that, in the Libya versus Chad war over the control of the northern Chadian territory of band Aouzou, Denis Sassou Nguesso was on the side of Libya. He went on: “since Colonel Gaddafi was a friend to Colonel Denis Sassou Nguesso, Libya’s leader, decided to send Libyan bomb experts to Brazzaville to plant a bomb in a UTA flight that was to fly to Paris via Ndjamena, the capital of Chad. And in Ndjamena, President Hissene Habre had to board that plane because, he was going to Paris, France”. My informant went on: “The Libyan plan was that, the plane will take off and explode out of Chadian territory, killing in the process the Chadian leader who was viscerally opposed to Libyan expansionism and who had inflicted heavy defeats on Libyan forces with the aid of French legionnaires”. 

He went on: “In Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso did inform three Congolese of the Libyan plan: Senator Oba Apounou, General Norbert Dabira and Auxence Ickonga, who was the third African director of Air Afrique”. He continued: “the mutual Gaddafi –Sassou Nguesso secret plan to kill Hissene Habre failed because, late Auxence Ickonga, who was a friend to late President Mobutu, decided to inform the second. And Mobutu in turn informed his friend Hissene Habre, asking him not board the UTA flight from Brazzaville to Paris via Ndjamena".  

He concluded: "sadly On board that, same flight, several Congolese lost their lives amongst them, the daughter of trade-unionist, Bokamba Yagouma. It also explained the reason why, Bokamba had a vitriolic anti Denis Sassou Nguesso approach in the 90s.  When the French discovered the implication of Denis Sassou Nguesso, their protégé in the UTA crash, they decided not support Pascal Lissouba. It was Paris own way to punish their protégé”.  Another informant told me: “when Denis Sassou Nguesso discovered that, it was Auxence Ickonga, who leaked the secret to Mobutu, Auxence was allegedly poisoned by Congo’s president using a woman whose name can’t be mentioned here on”.  

Bonaventure Mbaya: Profile a man without no character or personality

Bonaventure Mbaya:  he is a former minister, whose only feather on his political cap is the fact that, he is member of the international socialists. He enjoys talking about it or on how; he met so and so French minister or so and so, French-speaking African minister or president, during an international socialist gathering in Africa or in France.  Besides those, Bonaventure Mbaya has nothing to show. He is not a major political force in the forest of old and young individuals who have made politics their profession. Congo is also one of the rare countries in the region, besides Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, where, when you ask the profession of someone, he/she could easily, respond: politics. And to show that, politics is an important economic sector, besides alcoholic industries and leisure investments or businesses, many students in Congo are aspiring to become politicians. Bonaventure Mbaya is a prototype of a real Congolese politician. He is a realist or a survivalist, who is neither member of the two or three wings of the Congolese divided and weak opposition. The Republic of Congo has two brands of opposition political parties. The first are called the radicals, while the second are referred to, as the Republicans and sometimes they are called moderates.

The first is led by Mathias Dzon and assisted or seconded by Clement Mierassa, whereas the second doesn’t have a clear cut leadership. Sometimes, the leader is either Nicephore Antoine Fylla de Saint Eudes or Jean Michel Bokamba Yagouma, the former trade unionists. Mr Yagouma is the trade union leader from northern Congo, who brought down Denis Sassou Nguesso in 90s with his crippling strikes. Denis Sassou Nguesso not only hated him, he took him for a traitor because, Mr Yagouma is not only a native of the north, and more, they are from the same administrative region, the Cuvette. Furthermore, they speak the same language, the Mbouchi. Because of the trade union activities of Mr Yagouma, he earned an infamous character in Denis Sassou Nguesso’s June 1997 book called The Mango Tree, The River and the Mouse. The mouse character in question is Mr Bokamba Yagouma. Sadly or should I say, like a typical Congolese politician would behave, Bokamba Yagouma has today crossed the carpet and is firing full throttle for Denis Sassou Nguesso, his erstwhile enemy. Why?  It was simply because, Bokamba doesn’t want his daughter, to go to jail. The daughter of Bokamba is alleged to have embezzled a lump sum in a local bank called LCB. And President Denis Sassou Nguesso is reported to be the majority share, which stands at 64% and he is represented on the board of the bank by a certain Hubert Pandino.  Between the two leading opposition forces latter mentioned, there is a third force also, but that is allied to the ruling party. But Bonaventure Mbaya belongs strangely to none, but he is reported to have flirted with them all.

His only hope now is to become a government minister by all means. Hence, he doesn’t have a clear cut ideology or position on major national political or social issues, for fear of wrecking his promised and aspired ministerial post. I noticed that, when I had him as guest on the 11^th of July 2014 in my programme La Grande Interview. Before he could come, it was Mr. Sylvetre Ossiala MP, who first called to inform me that, Mbaya wanted to be invited in my programme. What stroke me was that, Mr Ossiala invited me first to his house and tried to condition me on what and how he wanted me to conduct the interview with Bonaventure Mbaya. I accepted but told him that, I will conduct my interview as I have always done and it will be left to Mr Mbaya to defend your project. From there on, I concluded that, Bonaventure Mbaya was not operating alone. He was a straw man of a presidential manipulative scheme. Since the ruling party was determined to change the constitution, they hand many pliers in the fire to use. And Mr Mbaya was one of them. On the constitution, Bonaventure Mbaya, wants it to be changed in order to create the posts of 1^st and 2^ndvice presidents and also a post of prime minister. Then, I asked him, this would be added to the already existing posts of speakers of the upper and lower chambers of parliaments?

He responded: Yes. But where will the state get money from to finance all these institutions? I asked back. He answered: this changes and propositions are needed and necessary, for it was made or designed  in a bid to satisfy all sections and regions of the country that are currently marginalized by the minority ethnic Mbouchis who are governing the country . And he added: Congo has a lot of money. I concluded inwardly that, since he was  a Socialist in his political orientation, he was inclined to the tax and spending syndrome of his western friends and in chief, the French socialists  who have no thoughts of saving for rainy days. Bonaventure Mbaya might be eloquent and intelligent, but he is like most politicians in Congo that I have come across: corrupt or corruptible. That is partly why Denis Sassou Nguesso has stayed longer in power, because he knows how to buy over politicians.  In my humble opinion, Mr Mbaya has no character or personality. He gyrates whenever he senses a ministerial post or money is dangled over to him and thus, he could be bought over anytime. One good thing with him, because no one man can be all round bad, he at least, has a political ideology: socialism. It is a luxury that most Congolese or African politicians that I have met, seldom have. Most don’t even know whether they are left or right, what they best know is how to plan corruption and corrupt practices.