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OnDaFence 36M/44M
44267 posts
10/13/2018 8:51 pm

Last Read:
10/15/2018 12:33 am

Happy Birthday!



Born as Joseph Desire Mobutu on October 14, 1930 in Lisala in the Belgian Congo. He received an education under Belgian missionaries until 1950, when he entered the colonial army and served under a non-combat situation for six years. In 1956, he became a journalist.



If someone made a list of worst dictators in history, Mobutu Sese Seko would always be a part of the list.



A man who ruined his country, Mobutu ruled with brutality, corruption, and extreme case of narcissism. Served initially as a soldier in the Belgian colonial army, he became journalist and an active participant in politics. When he returned to the military, he became widely involve in the politics of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo. So much his involvement, he launched a coup that marked the start of his 32 year reign of terror.



Like all tinhorn dictators he plastered his picture all over his impoverished country. Including all the nation's currency. We bought several these banknotes in a currency package a long time ago. Not so much as an investment...../



but for the beauty of the reverse side's jungle scene.



Instead of giving the benefits or profits of his economic policies to his impoverished people, he funneled it to his own bank accounts. His graft and corruption allowed Mobutu to build a huge opulent palace in Gbadolite, his ancestral home. The town itself benefited from the palace and Mobutu built a TV station and established several plantations and ranches. Mobutu also managed to have a luxury yacht that sailed in the Congo or Zaire River. His corruption also allowed him to purchase a huge fleet of imported Mercedes Benz and rented a Concorde to go to Paris for shopping and built a special airport in Gbadolite for it. In addition, his huge wealth went to real estate. He bought several mansions in many European countries, like Spain. All in all, Mobutu’s wealth amounted to over $5 billion that made many call him one of the richest man in the world.



Mobutu power declined along with his health, deteriorating for years because of his prostate cancer. In 1996, he left Zaire and sought medical attention abroad at which time, rebel forces under the Alliance des Force Democratique Pour la Liberation of Congo ( ADFL ) under Laurent-Desire Kabila made huge gains and aimed in marching to Kinshasa and to finally oust Mobutu.



Eventually, a year later, in May 1997, the aging and ailing Mobutu Sese Seko decided to leave his country for Togo and sought asylum to Morocco. Meanwhile, Kabila’s forces took the capital Kinshasa and started his rule of the country. Kabila changed the country’s name back from Zaire to Democratic Republic of Congo.



Mobutu on the other hand continued to suffer from his prostate cancer and on September 7, 1997, Mobutu Sese Seko passed away in Rabat, Morocco. His beautiful palace in the jungle left to the overgrowth and rot.

OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/13/2018 9:00 pm

The banks took punches and cut his pictures from much of the currency in circulation until New redesigned bills could be issued.


OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/13/2018 9:02 pm

I wonder just where and who got away with his fortune?


OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/13/2018 9:03 pm

The United States and western countries supported him for his friendly posture towards them and his anti-communist stand.


OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/13/2018 9:07 pm

He also squandered profits from his country’s exports. He sold Zaire’s huge diamond, cobalt, and copper to western countries and kept much if not all proceeds. He became a major shareholder in many banks in Zaire, which meant he had access in its finance, which helped to increase his assets further.


Hungr4Yungr 75M
5766 posts
10/14/2018 6:16 am

It is amazing how most dictators rise up through military ranks, only to viciously plunder the assets of their country, and relegate the majority of the population to extreme poverty. Thank you for this interesting history lesson that occured in our lifetime.


OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/14/2018 4:13 pm

    Quoting Hungr4Yungr:
    It is amazing how most dictators rise up through military ranks, only to viciously plunder the assets of their country, and relegate the majority of the population to extreme poverty. Thank you for this interesting history lesson that occured in our lifetime.
He ended up like all hated dictators. You can't steal the country blind and then expect fond memories left behind.


bychance4709 61M

10/14/2018 7:30 pm

Imagine if he had sacrificed for the good of the country & it's people. He would be a hero, not a despot.


OnDaFence 36M/44M

10/15/2018 12:33 am

    Quoting bychance4709:
    Imagine if he had sacrificed for the good of the country & it's people. He would be a hero, not a despot.
Like our Washington and Lincoln and be memorialized in every town. His home a living testament to him not a despised relic falling apart in the jungle.