An illustration of former Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire) President Mobutu Sese Seko, on the Academy of Wonderful Arts within the Gombe commune in Kinshasa
Arsene Mpiana/AFP by way of Getty Photos
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Arsene Mpiana/AFP by way of Getty Photos
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Younger folks gaze up at giant pictures of Mobutu Sese Seko, within the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) nationwide museum.
A charismatic and outrageously corrupt former dictator, Mobutu seized energy within the Nineteen Sixties and dominated the nation with an iron fist for over 30 years. On the peak of his energy, Mobutu was courted by royalty and presidents — and put Zaire on the map with the legendary Rumble within the Jungle, the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Zaire President Mobuto with heavyweight challenger Muhammed Ali throughout a stroll across the gardens of the presidential palace right here Oct. twenty eighth 1974.
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Bettmann Archive/Bettmann by way of Getty
However in right now’s Congo, which is politically unstable and suffering from seemingly infinite armed battle, there is a rising sense of nostalgia for the comparatively peaceable years of Mobutu’s reign. An exhibit celebrating the previous dictator’s life opened not too long ago within the capital Kinshasa, and it is confirmed a shocking success.
“To be sure, his reign wasn’t appreciated by everyone,” says Marie-Ange Makeya, an 18-year-old structure and urbanism scholar visiting the exhibit.
“But at least the country was respected, and there was no war,” she provides. The sentiment is a typical one. It is also notable, given Mobutu’s status as one of many archetypal Chilly-Conflict African dictators.
Mobutu seized energy in a coup in 1965, and inside just a few years, he had established a one-party state and a persona cult. State tv broadcasts used to start with a picture of Mobutu within the clouds.
President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, holding his strolling stick, and President Reagan pose for photographers within the rose backyard earlier than a gathering on the White Home, Aug.4th. 1983.
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Bettmann Archive/Bettmann by way of Getty pictures
Backed by Western powers for his staunch anti-communism, Mobutu sought to forge a brand new nationwide id after Congo’s independence from Belgium in 1960, even banning Western-style fits and names as a part of his marketing campaign.
Mobutu’s regime was additionally massively corrupt: He constructed an ornate palace within the northern Congolese jungle and flew in luxurious gadgets on Concorde jets, all whereas atypical Congolese folks struggled to outlive.
However within the mid-Nineties, after the top of the Chilly Conflict, a revolt that started in japanese Congo unfold. Mobutu fled because the rebels closed in on Kinshasa, dying just a few months later in exile in Morocco.
Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), sitting on a throne with ft rested on a tiger pores and skin, takes oath on December 05, 1984 in Kinshasa.
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Martine Archambault/AFP by way of Getty Photos
“It’s true that he is still a very controversial figure,” says Juvenal Munubo, a politician from japanese Congo who was invited to the exhibit. However he added that he fostered an actual sense of nationwide unity, which individuals keep in mind fondly.
“We recognize that the DRC was much more stable than it is now,” Munubo mentioned.
There have been armed conflicts within the DRC throughout Mobutu’s reign, however nothing on the dimensions of the cataclysm that erupted after he was ousted. From 1997, Congo grew to become the theatre of back-to-back regional wars by which 3-5 million folks have been killed, in response to some estimates.
Battle additionally endured in japanese Congo after the top of these wars, and in recent times, it has flared dramatically. Rebels from the Rwanda-backed M23 group captured two main cities in japanese Congo at first of 2025. Now, they govern swaths of territory within the mineral-rich area as a proto mini-state.
Congo stays one of many poorest international locations on this planet, the place over 70 p.c of individuals within the nation of about 120 million folks dwell on beneath $2.15 a day, in response to the World Financial institution.
Nzanga Mobutu, one among Mobutu Sese Seko’s sons and the top of a small political celebration, organized the exhibit in Kinshasa. He defined that the initiative was meant before everything to lift consciousness amongst younger Congolese.
“Whether he was a dictator or not a dictator, I mean: What do you want? Should we let our country be attacked and our women raped?”, Nzanga Mobutu informed NPR.
“We had discipline, when countries tried to attack we had a response.”
On the exhibit, quite a few pictures present Mobutu, wanting stern and commanding, sporting his thick black glasses, signature leopard-skin hat and ebony cane.
Zairean president, Mobutu Sese Seko and Queen Elizabeth II en path to Buckingham Palace from Victoria railway station at first of his State Go to to Britain, 1973.
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Keystone/Getty Photos/Hulton Royals Assortment
He’s additionally pictured beside historic world leaders akin to John F. Kennedy, John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth II. The message is evident: Right here was a robust man who made the world take Congo significantly.
Congolese pop stars and politicians of all stripes have visited the exhibit. As has Mike Tyson, who travelled to Kinshasa final month to have a good time the anniversary of the 1974 Rumble within the Jungle boxing match.
Even the present president, Felix Tshisekedi, turned as much as tour the exhibit specializing in the outdated dictator. It was a symbolic act. Tshisekedi’s father, Etienne Tshisekedi, was Mobutu’s most die-hard political opponent, and the president himself grew up partly in exile.
With many in Congo craving for stability, some observers say options of Mobutu-ism are creeping again into politics.
In September Congolese politicians swore oaths of fealty to President Tshisekedi, a ritual straight out of Mobutu’s playbook.
For some right here, it is a signal that the spirit of Mobutu — the so known as Leopard of Zaire — nonetheless prowls Congo’s corridors of energy.
