Attempted putsch in DR Congo: leader of assailants killed
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The leader of the assailants who attempted a coup in Kinshasa on Sunday has been killed by the DR Congo Defence Forces, General Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for the DR Congo Armed Forces (FARDC), told national television.
"Some forty assailants were arrested, while four others, including their leader, "a certain Christian Malanga, a naturalized American Congolese", were "definitively neutralized" (killed) by the security forces," said General Sylvain Ekenge, spokesperson for the DR Congo Armed Forces (FARDC).
According to the FARDC spokesperson, the assailants included both Congolese and foreigners.
"In addition to Christian Malanga, "his son, Marcel Malanga, was there" and "there were two other American subjects, white men. We also have a naturalized British Congolese subject, the number 2 in the group," added the general.
Recounting the events, General Ekenge said that the attackers were divided into two groups. The first group, led by Christian Malanga, initially intended to attack the homes of the new Prime Minister, Judith Suminwa, and the Defence Minister, Jean-Pierre Bemba.
But having been unable to "identify the home" of the former and "unable to find" the latter at home, they then "attacked the residence of Vital Kamerhe", a key ally of President Félix Tshisekedi, who was there with his family.
They then laid siege to the "Palais de la Nation", which houses the offices of President Félix Tshisekedi, joining the second group who had hidden in the marshes along the river in the vicinity of the said palace.
Videos, apparently filmed by the assailants themselves and posted on social networks, showed armed men at the Palais de la Nation waving the flag of Zaire, the former name of DR Congo under President Mobutu Sese Seko, who was overthrown in 1997, before they were neutralized.
On Sunday, the US ambassador to the DRC, Lucy Tamlyn, said on X that she was "very concerned by reports of US citizens allegedly involved" in the coup attempt denounced by the Congolese authorities.
"Rest assured that we will cooperate with the DR Congo authorities," she said.
Born on 2 January 1983, Christian Malanga is a former FARDC officer, politician and businessman based in the United States of America. A former captain, he served under the flag from 2006 to 2014. He stood in the legislative elections as an independent opposition candidate in 2011. He was arrested by government security forces shortly before the elections and detained for several weeks.
After his release, Malanga set up his own political party, UCP. Since then, he has returned to the United States to develop and consolidate his political party by campaigning among the Congolese diaspora in various countries. He is the president of Nouveau Zaïre and currently heads the "Nouveau Zaïre d'Abord" initiative.
He is married with 8 children, all of whom live in Miami, USA.
-0- PANA KON/IS/SOC/BBA/RA 20May2024
