Joseph Kabila, president of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, came into power following the assassination
of his father in 2001. But even before his sudden rise to power, Kabila was a
player on the Congolese political stage. Quickly becoming an integral member of
the DRC military, Kabila helped his father rise to power before beginning his
own rise. Here’s some things you didn’t know about Joseph Kabila.
1. Kabila
spent the majority of his childhood in Tanzania
As a result, he spoke Kiswahili and
English better than French or Lingala, the two main langauges in Kinshasa. This
worked against him later in his career, as he had to learn those languages on
the job. Some believe he grew up in Tanzania in order to avoid the attention of
former president Mobutu Sese Seko’s intelligence service.
2. His
childhood nickname was ‘War Bus’
Growing up, Joseph was a big fan of
war films and martial arts, earning him the nickname “War Bus” from his
schoolmates in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Given the amount of conflict Kabila has
been involved in throughout his career, the nickname was pretty spot on.
3. Following
the AFDL’s victory, Joseph went to China for further training
Joseph continued his army training
with the People’s Liberation Army after the victory of the Alliance of
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), studying at the PLA
National Defense University in Beijing, China. After returning to the DRC, he
was awarded the rank of major general and appointed deputy chief of staff of
the armed forces of the DRC.
4. Kabila
was one of the main leaders of the Second Congo War
Appointed chief of staff of the land
forces in 2000, Joseph was one of the main military leaders in charge of
government forces in the Second Congo War. As he assumed the presidency in the
midst of the war, he was also responsible for negotiating peace agreements to
end the war.
5. Joseph
became the world’s first head of government born in the 1970s
His young age was due to the
assassination of his father, Laurent-Désiré Kabila on January 26, 2001. At 30,
he remained the youngest leader in the world until Roosevelt Skerrit became the
Prime Minister of Dominica three years later.
6. Kabila
is considered to be shy by many Congolese
Joseph often tries to keep a lower
profile than other politicians in the country. Many of his constituents believe
he shies away from public speaking. His aides insist he is just reserved, — a
result of his Swahili upbringing.
7. Joseph
married long-time girlfriend Olive Lembe di Sita in 2006
As Kabila is Anglican and his wife,
Olive Lembe di Sita is Catholic, the wedding ceremonies were ecumenical and
officiated by members of both religions. The couple has a daughter together —
Sifa, born in 2001 — and a son, Laurent-Desire. Both children are named after
Joseph’s parents.
8. Kabila
is a big motorcross fan
On the weekends, the president often
heads to his farm just on the outskirts of Kinshasa, where he is an avid
motorcross rider.
9. His
close circle of advisors are known as ‘the Kabila boys’
Since the civil war came to an end,
the Kabila boys have been implicated in numerous shady dealings involving the
abuse of natural resource mining and war profiteering. Kabila himself has
managed to remain separate from many of these scandals, but few believe he had
no involvement.
10. Many
international observers believe Kabila is losing his grip on power
The International Crisis Group has
observed that the president relies on “governance by substitution,” in which
security must be supplied by outside forces as too little loyalty remains
inside the administration. With continuing policies of decentralization, the
future of Kabila’s presidency in the Democratic Republic.
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