Barthélemy Mukenge
Barthélemy Mukenge | |
---|---|
President of Kasaï Province | |
In office 11 June 1960 – January 1962 | |
In office July 1962 – September 1962 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kalomba, Kamuandu Sector, Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution | 3 August 1925
Barthélemy Mukenge Nsumpi Shabantu (3 August 1925 – 4 July 2018) was a Congolese politician who served as President of
Biography
Barthélemy Mukenge was born on 3 August 1925 in the village of Kalomba, Kamuandu Sector, Dibaya Territory, Belgian Congo.[1] A Lulua, he was related to the paramount chief, Sylvestre Mangole Kalamba.[2] He fathered 14 children.[1] He underwent three years of education at the Mikalayi normal school. In 1959 Mukenge became the director of the primary school[2] of the Notre Dame Catholic mission in Luluabourg.[3] He served as president of the Association des Lulua-Frères and was a leading member of the Union Nationale Congolaise (UNC) party,[2] adhering to its "moderate and more traditionalist" faction.[4] He frequently criticised the Belgian colonial Governor of Kasaï Province, De Jaeger.[5]
President of Kasai Province
Following the
When an ideological split formed in his government over a fracture in national politics between the nationalist Lumumba and more moderate elements in the capital, Mukenge sided with the moderate Minister of Interior, Luhata. This led another one of his ministers, Albert Onya, and numerous Batetela to accuse him of facilitating the arrest of Lumumba in Kasai by central government authorities. The people of the Sankuru region aligned themselves with Lumumba, and consequently Mukenge's government neglected them and withheld funds to the area.[13] In February 1961, while on a diplomatic mission in Brussels, he denounced his past ties with Lumumba, saying "We Lulua, we have entered into an electoral and post-election alliance with Lumumba, but since then we have regained our freedom."[3] He also appealed to the Belgian government to mediate between hostile Lulua and Luba factions and requested economic aid for Kasai, warning that "The Lumumbists are in danger of exploiting hunger and unemployment at home if the Free World does not help us."[3] When Lumumbist troops from the rebellious "Free Republic of the Congo" entered Luluabourg unopposed, he wired a message to the city's garrison, calling for the "mobilisation of the population of Kasai" to "repel" the incursion.[14] In November 1961 mutinous troops raped and harassed several Belgians in Luluabourg. Many Europeans then attempted to leave Kasai, but Mukenge prohibited them from doing so, contributing to the state of panic among the white population.[15]
Mukenge was unseated by the provincial assembly and replaced by André Lubaya in January 1962.[16] He characterised his deposition as a "coup d'etat"[17] and contested the election of Lubaya on the grounds that several unqualified provincial deputies had cast votes and demanded that Parliament reverse the result.[18] He returned to the office in July and held it until September.[2] In August he appealed for Kasaians, specifically the Lulua, to remain calm and place their trust in his government so that "all misunderstandings can be ironed out."[19]
Later life
In late 1962 Kasai Province was subdivided; a new Province of Luluabourg was established. On 18 September
Citations
- ^ a b "Commémoration de 90 ans de naissance du gouverneur honoraire Barthélémy Mukenge Nsumpi Shabantu" (in French). Agence congolaise de presse. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Willame & Verhaegen 1964, p. 98.
- ^ a b c d e f Artigue 1961, p. 233.
- ^ Turner 1973, pp. 311–312.
- ^ Kambidi, Pierre-Sosthène (7 April 2015). "Congo-Kinshasa: Premier Gouverneur noir du Kasaï , Barthelemy Mukenge Sha Bantu - "ça ne sert à rien d'avoir une province qu'on ne sera pas en mesure de déve"". La Prospérité (in French). Kinshasa.
- ^ a b Nzongola-Ntalaja 2002, p. 104.
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, p. 70.
- ^ Omasombo Tshonda 2014, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Mukenge Announces Kasai Government, Léopoldville: Belgian Congo Home Service, 16 June 1960
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, p. 94.
- ^ Omasombo Tshonda 2014, p. 187.
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, p. 344.
- ^ Turner 1973, p. 310.
- ^ Tanner, Henry (26 February 1961). "Ileo Demands U.N. Free Luluabourg: Premier of Congo Demands Ouster of Gizenga Troops From Capital of Kasai". The New York Times. p. 4.
- ^ Halberstam, David (9 November 1961). "White Residents Stage Strikes After Assaults by Mutinous Troops: Luluabourg Gripped by Anxiety Following Assaults". The New York Times. pp. 1, 6.
- ^ Packham 1996, p. 39.
- ^ a b c Kambidi, Pierre-Sosthène (13 April 2015). "Voyage au fond du Kasaï avec Mukenge Sha Bantu". 7sur7.cd (in French). Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ Young 1965, p. 369.
- ^ Mukenge Appeals for Reconciliation, Luluabourg: Luluabourg Domestic Service, 9 August 1962
- ^ Packham 1996, pp. 149, 237.
- ^ Willame & Verhaegen 1964, p. 88.
- ^ Omasombo Tshonda 2014, p. 217.
- ^ Packham 1996, p. 237.
- ^ Kabangu, Richard (4 July 2018). "Barthélemy Mukenge Nsumpi, premier gouverneur noir du Kasaï rend L'áme á L'áge de 93 ans". onerdc.net (in French). Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ Bukasa, Ben (July 2018). "Nécrologie: le premier gouverneur noir du grand Kasaï n'est plus". Times.cd (in French). Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "RDC: le 1er Gouverneur noir du Kasaï est mort!". Politico.cd (in French). 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ Bompolonga, J.R. (16 August 2001). "Congo-Kinshasa: Premier Gouverneur du Kasaï - Mukenge Shabantu : "Les gouverneurs de province n'ont rien pour agir"". Le Phare. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
References
- Artigue, Pierre (1961). Qui sont les leaders congolais? (in French). Vol. 3. Brussels: Éditions Europe-Afrique. OCLC 469948352.
- Hoskyns, Catherine (1965). The Congo Since Independence: January 1960 – December 1961. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 414961.
- ISBN 9781842770535.
- Packham, Eric S. (1996). Freedom and Anarchy (illustrated ed.). New York: Nova Publishers. ISBN 9781560722328.
- Omasombo Tshonda, Jean, ed. (2014). Kasaï-Oriental : Un nœud gordien dans l'espace congolais (PDF). Provinces (in French). Tervuren: Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale. ISBN 978-9-4916-1524-5.
- Turner, Thomas Edwin (1973). A Century of Conflict in Sankuru (Congo-Zaire). Madison. OCLC 38789852.
- Willame, Jean-Claude; Verhaegen, Benoît (1964). Les provinces du Congo: Kwilu, Luluaburg, Nord Katanga, Ubangi. Léopoldville: Université Louvanium. OCLC 952959613.
- Young, Crawford (1965). Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 307971.