André Kisase Ngandu
André Kisase Ngandu | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "The German" General |
Commands held | CNRD AFDL |
Battles/wars | Simba rebellion First Congo War † |
André Kisase Ngandu (died January 1997) was a Congolese rebel leader. An insurgent in the Simba rebellion of the 1960s, he immigrated to East and later West Germany where he lived for many years. He resumed his rebel activity with Ugandan support in the 1990s and emerged as leader of the National Council of Resistance for Democracy (CNRD) which waged an insurgency in eastern Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo
In 1996, he agreed to unite his force with other opposition factions, forming the
Biography
Early life and CNRD insurgency
An ethnic
In 1990, Kisase resumed his rebel activity.
By 1996, his group counted about 400 militants, and possessed a sympathizer network extending from Goma to Bunia.[8] At the time, the Ugandans were training thousands more CNRD recruits. Museveni's government hoped to transform the CNRD into an intensely pro-Ugandan force within Zaire.[6]
AFDL commander
In 1996, an international anti-Mobutu coalition began to emerge, with states and groups with widely diverging backgrounds and aims uniting to invade Zaire. Two states, Uganda and Rwanda, hoped to create a large Zairian/Congolese rebel force to aid this invasion.
At the time of the rebel coalition's formation, Kisase was the only member of the newly formed AFDL high command who had any kind of substantial armed force and supporter network.
Now we have to think for ourselves... Our main problems are how to use taxes, a fair administration and freedom for all of Zaire.
—André Kisase Ngandu, 20 November 1996[17]
As time went on, Kisase became increasingly independent from his foreign sponsors. He began to critically address the future implications of foreign influence on the Congolese rebels,[17] making his nationalistic stance clear.[18] He wanted to transform the AFDL into a genuine Congolese liberation force instead of a proxy group for other states.[1] His stance was strengthened by his frustration at being excluded from military and strategic decisions by the Rwandan officers, something about which he complained to them repeatedly.[19] His rhetoric attracted many recruits, a large number of whom were suspicious of the AFDL's foreign supporters, most importantly Rwanda. This resulted in the Rwandan government starting to treat him with distrust; in contrast, AFDL spokesman Kabila took the opposite position, generally behaving "subservient" to the Rwandans and thus positioning himself as their favorite.[20] At the same time, Kabila began to sideline the three other AFDL leaders, posing as future President of Zaire to their objections.[14]
When the AFDL and its foreign allies began to push the FAZ back and take territory in eastern Zaire, tensions between Kisase and the Rwandans further worsened. He publicly opposed the widespread looting by the RPA. On one occasion, he prevented the RPA from taking an electric generator from
Assassination
The "most authoritative accounts" of the
Many AFDL officers never accused Rwanda of the murder,[16] instead implicating Kabila alone or an actual Mai-Mai attack.[26] However, Kabila lacked loyal men to carry out the assassination on his own at the time.[26]
Legacy
On 17 January, Kabila publicly lied that Kisase had been wounded by the Mai-Mai, claiming that he would soon return to active service.[22] The Rwandans even ordered the Makerere University Hospital to make room for Kisase, so that he could be treated there.[27] Later on, it was alleged that he had been killed in an ambush at Beni.[1] The murder remained unsolved, partially due to Kabila having no intention to clear up the removal of his political rival.[27]
Kisase's demise weakened Uganda's influence on the AFDL, while improving the relative importance of two other AFDL leaders: Kabila and Masasu. Ultimately, Kabila emerged as the strongest figure among the rebels.[26] Following the fall of Mobutu's regime, Kabila became President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[27] In 1999, MNC-L leader Albert Onawelho Lumumba demanded that Kabila clear up his involvement in the murder of leading Lumumbists including Kisase.[28]
Kisase's family was still living in Germany as of the early 2000s.[1]
Notes
- ^ The timing of Kisase's arrival in Uganda is disputed. According to his own statements, he returned to an unspecified African country in 1991.[3] Researchers Philip Roessler and Harry Verhoeven claim that he ventured to Uganda in 1990,[6] whereas Filip Reyntjens stated that he arrived in Uganda in early 1992.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Neudeck 2001, p. 95.
- ^ a b Van Reybrouck 2013, p. 495.
- ^ a b c d Colson, Marie-Laure (8 November 1996). "Zaïre: Mobutu, cible des rebelles. A Goma, le commandant Kisase réfute le caractère ethnique de la rébellion" [Zaire: Mobutu, target of the rebels. In Goma, Commander Kisase refutes the ethnic character of the rebellion]. Libération (in French). Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ a b Stearns 2012, Chapter 6: Mzee.
- ^ a b c Luntumbue 2020, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d e f g Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, p. 169.
- ^ a b c d e Reyntjens 2009, p. 104.
- ^ a b c d Prunier 2009, p. 113.
- ^ Turner 2002, p. 88.
- ^ a b Prunier 2009, p. 116.
- ^ a b c d e Stearns 2012, Chapter 16: Cain and Abel.
- ^ a b c Reyntjens 2009, p. 106.
- ^ a b Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, p. 215.
- ^ a b c d "How Kabila lost his way: The performance of Laurent Désiré Kabila's government". ICG. 21 May 1999. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ Reyntjens 2009, p. 105.
- ^ a b c d e f Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, p. 216.
- ^ a b Prunier 2009, pp. 123–124.
- ^ a b c d Prunier 2009, p. 130.
- ^ Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Prunier 2009, p. 124.
- ^ a b Prunier 2009, pp. 130–131.
- ^ a b c Prunier 2009, p. 131.
- ^ a b Pomfret, John (6 July 1997). "In Congo, Revenge became Rebellion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Van Reybrouck 2013, p. 513.
- ^ a b c Verhoeven & Roessler 2016, p. 217.
- ^ a b c Neudeck 2001, p. 96.
- ^ Misser, Francois (15 December 1999). "Ein Belgier zersägte die Leiche" [A Belgian sawed up the corpse]. taz (in German). Retrieved 14 September 2021.
Works cited
- Luntumbue, Michel (2020). "Cuban-Congolese families: From the Fizi-Baraka underground to Havana". In Kali Argyriadis; Giulia Bonacci; Adrien Delmas (eds.). Cuba and Africa, 1959-1994: Writing an alternative Atlantic history. Johannesburg: Wits University Press. pp. 161–182. ISBN 978-1-77614-633-8.
- Neudeck, Rupert (2001). "Afrika ist schlecht gestartet" [Africa has had a bad start]. Auslandsinformationen (in German) (1/2001). Sankt Augustin: Konrad Adenauer Foundation: 89–102.
- Prunier, Gérard (2009). Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-970583-2.
- Reyntjens, Filip (2009). The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996–2006. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Stearns, Jason (2012). Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa. New York City: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1610391597.
- Turner, Thomas (2002). "Angola's Role in the Congo War". In John F. Clark (ed.). The African Stakes of the Congo War. New York City: Palgrave Macmillian. pp. 73–92.
- Van Reybrouck, David (2013). Kongo: Eine Geschichte [Congo: A history] (in German). Berlin: Suhrkamp. ISBN 978-3-518-46445-8.
- Verhoeven, Harry; Roessler, Philip (2016). Why Comrades Go to War: Liberation Politics and the Outbreak of Africa's Deadliest Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190864552.