Bobi Ladawa Mobutu

Last updated
Mobutu Sese Seko
​
​
(m. 1980;died 1997)​
Bobi Ladawa Mobutu
Bobi Ladawa.jpg
Bobi Ladawa in 1995, at her son's wedding
First Lady of Zaire
In office
1 May 1980 –16 May 1997
Children4

Bobi Ladawa Mobutu (born 2 September 1945 [1] ) also known as Mama Bobi Ladawa, is the second wife and widow of Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) as president between 1965 and 1997.

Background

She was born at Dula in the western province of Équateur and attended a Roman Catholic convent school in the capital Kinshasa before embarking on a teaching career. [1] In the 1970s, she became the mistress of President Mobutu. The couple had a total of four children - Nzanga, Giala, Toku and Ndokula. [2] She bore his children before his first wife, Marie-Antoinette, died in 1977. [2] She married President Mobutu Sese Seko in both church and civil ceremonies on 1 May 1980, on the eve of a visit by Pope John Paul II. The pope refused Mobutu's request to officiate over the ceremony. [3]

Bobi Ladawa Mobutu was known for promoting issues such as health, education and women's rights. [1] She was also customarily addressed as "Citizen Bobi" or "Mama Bobi", and frequently accompanied her husband abroad. Reportedly, she was involved in the corruption that occurred during Mobutu's rule. In 1996, a government minister who feared that he was about to be sacked in an upcoming cabinet reshuffle flew to Mobutu's palace at Gbadolite to visit the president and his family, carrying a million US dollars in his briefcase as a gift for Bobi Ladawa. When the reshuffle came, he was promoted to deputy prime minister. [4]

Mobutu was overthrown in May 1997 and fled into a luxurious exile, eased by the millions of US dollars that he had amassed during his rule. Bobi Ladawa accompanied him to his eventual final place of exile in Morocco, and was at his bedside when he died from prostate cancer in September 1997. [5]

In 1998, Bobi Ladawa alongside her son, Nzanga, created the "Mobutu Foundation" in hopes of helping young men and women in Africa reach their full potential. [6] She remains in exile, and reportedly divides her time between Rabat, where Mobutu is buried, Faro (in the Algarve, Portugal), Brussels, and Paris where she owns properties. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaire</span> Country in Central Africa (1971–1997)

Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to May 18, 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-largest country in the world from 1965 to 1997. With a population of over 23 million, Zaire was the most populous Francophone country in Africa. Zaire played a central role during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobutu Sese Seko</span> President of Zaire from 1965 to 1997

Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the 1st and only President of Zaire from 1971 to 1997. Previously, Mobutu served as the 2nd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1971. He also served as the 5th Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity from 1967 to 1968. During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu, serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and supported by Belgium and the United States, deposed the democratically elected government of left-wing nationalist Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Léon Kengo wa Dondo</span> Congolese 1st state commissioner

Léon Kengo wa Dondo is a Congolese politician who served as the "first state commissioner" several times under Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaïre. He was one of the most powerful figures in the regime and was a strong advocate of economic globalization and free-market economics. He served as President of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2007 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFDL</span> Anti-Mobutu military coalition (1996–1997)

The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire, also known by the French acronym AFDL, was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups, and nations that toppled Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila to power in the First Congo War. Although the group was successful in overthrowing Mobutu, the alliance fell apart after Kabila did not agree to be dictated by his foreign backers, Rwanda and Uganda, which marked the beginning of the Second Congo War in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Movement of the Revolution</span> Ruling party of Zaire from 1967 to 1997

The Popular Movement of the Revolution was the ruling political party in Zaire. For most of its existence, it was the only legally permitted party in the country. It was founded by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu on 20 May 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobutism</span> State ideology of Zaire

Mobutism or Mobutuism was the state ideology of Zaire during the latter half of the 20th century, when it was under the one-party rule of the Popular Movement of the Revolution. Mobutism encompassed and glorified the thoughts, visions, and policies of Zairian president and self-proclaimed "Father of the Nation," Mobutu Sese Seko. The ideology included such major Mobutu initiatives as "Zairianization."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisala</span> Provincial capital and city in Mongala, DR Congo

Lisala is the capital of the Mongala Province in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nzanga Mobutu</span> Congolese politician

Nzanga Mobutu is a Congolese politician. A son of the long-time President Mobutu Sese Seko, he served in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2007 to 2011, initially as Minister of State for Agriculture and subsequently as Deputy Prime Minister for Basic Social Needs and Deputy Prime Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security. He received the fourth-highest number of votes in the 2006 presidential election. In 2007, Nzanga founded the Union of Mobutist Democrats as the successor to his father's Popular Movement of the Revolution and has led the party since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond</span> Zairian politician (1938–2003)

Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond was a prominent Zairian politician.

Ndolo Michel Mathieu Kongulu Mobutu, often shortened to Kongolo Mobutu and also known by his nickname Saddam Hussein, was a son of Mobutu Sese Seko, the president of Zaire, and an officer in the Special Presidential Division (DSP).

<i>Authenticité</i> (Zaire) Official state ideology initiated in the former Republic of Zaire

Authenticité, sometimes Zairisation or Zairianisation in English, was an official state ideology of the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was first the Democratic Republic of Congo, later renamed Zaire. The authenticity campaign was an effort to rid the country of the lingering vestiges of colonialism and the continuing influence of Western culture and to create a more centralized and singular national identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congolese National Liberation Front</span> Political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Congolese National Liberation Front was a Congolese left-wing armed opposition group and political party that was founded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of ex-members of the Katangese Gendarmerie. It was active mainly in Angola and Zaire during the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donatien Mahele Lieko Bokungu</span> Zairean general

Donatien "Marc" Mahele Lieko Bokungu was a prominent Zairean general who served as the last army chief during the long reign of Mobutu Sese Seko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeannot Bemba Saolona</span>

Jeannot Bemba Saolona was a Congolese businessman, Minister of the Economy and Industry, and Senator for Équateur. He was regarded as the most renowned businessman of the Zaire era. He was a close confidant of Mobutu Sese Seko and is the father of Jean-Pierre Bemba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congolese nationalism (Democratic Republic of the Congo)</span>

Congolese nationalism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was also for a time known as Zairian nationalism during the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko. Congolese nationalism persists among the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in spite of civil war and the lack of a clear definition of what it means to be Congolese.

Baudouin Banza Mukalay Nsungu was a Congolese politician, born in Coquilhatville. He had most recently served as the Minister of Culture and the Arts of the Democratic Republic of Congo from December 2014 until his death in May 2016. Previously, Mukalay served as Minister of Youth, Sports, Culture and the Arts from April 2012 until December 2014 under President Joseph Kabila and Minister of Mines from 1996 to 1997 under Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is common for individuals to possess three separate names: a first name (prénom) and surname (nom) as well as a post-surname (postnom). Each form may comprise one or more elements. For example:

The following lists events that happened during 1968 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The following lists events that happened during 1995 in Zaire.

The following lists events that happened during 1975 in Zaire.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BOBI Ladawa" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 12 June 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Henry Louis (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. pp. 238–9. ISBN   978-0-19-538207-5.
  3. ↑ Schatzberg, Michael G. (1988). The Dialectics of Oppression in Zaire. Indiana University Press. p. 120. ISBN   0-253-31703-7.
  4. ↑ Nzongola-Ntalaja, Georges (2002). The Congo: From Leopold to Kabila: A People's History. Zed Books. p. 158. ISBN   978-1-84277-053-5.
  5. ↑ Kisangani, Emizet Francois (2016). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 439. ISBN   978-1-4422-7316-0.
  6. ↑ Al Kamen, "SUNDAY IN THE LOOP"., Washington Post 10 October 1998.
  7. ↑ Juompan-Yakam, Clarisse (20 September 2012). "RDC: veuves de Mobutu, mais pas trop" (in French). Jeune Afrique. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.