1.
Upper house
–
An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the house is usually smaller. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UKs House of Lords, Canadas Senate, Indias Rajya Sabha, Russias Federation Council, Irelands Seanad, Germanys Bundesrat, a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral. An upper house is different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects, Powers, In a parliamentary system. Therefore, in countries the Upper House votes on only limited legislative matters. Cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government, while the house always can. In a presidential system, It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house and it may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example, It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions and it may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status, In some countries, its members are not popularly elected, membership may be indirect and its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house. Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be represented in the upper house than in the lower house. Members terms may be longer than in the house. Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time, in some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house and it has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. In parliamentary systems the upper house is seen as an advisory or revising chamber. Some or all of the restrictions are often placed on upper houses. No absolute veto of proposed legislation, though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states, in countries where it can veto legislation, it may not be able to amend the proposals. A reduced or even absent role in initiating legislation, additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as perfect bicameralism or equal bicameralism. An example is the British House of Lords, bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month
2.
Palais du Peuple (Kinshasa)
–
The Peoples Palace or Palace of the People is the seat of the National Assembly and Senate in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. It was completed in 1979 with a line of credit from the Peoples Republic of China, the architecture was inspired by the Great Hall of the People designed by Zhang Bo in Beijing. The site also includes the Kinshasa Martyrs Stadium, contracted at the time as the palace. The remaining debt of US$42.3 million was forgiven by the Chinese Government in 1983, laurent Kabila, president of the DRC, had overthrown United States ally Mobutu, who died in exile in Morocco. After his assassination by a bodyguard in January 2001, Kabila lay in state at the Peoples Palace for three days before being interred, in December 2013, famed African rumba musician Tabu Ley Rochereau, sometimes known as the African Elvis, lay in state at the Peoples Palace. They were subsequently attacked with gas and live ammunition by government security forces. At least 42 people were killed in the violence, parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Congo Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
3.
Kinshasa
–
Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is on the Congo River, once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now an urban area with a 2014 population of over 11 million. It faces Brazzaville, the capital of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, the city of Kinshasa is also one of the DRCs 26 provinces. Kinshasa is Africas third-largest urban area after Cairo and Lagos, Kinshasa hosted the 14th Francophonie Summit in October 2012. Residents of Kinshasa are known as Kinois or Kinshasans, the aboriginal people are called Humbu and Teke. The city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881. It was named Léopoldville in honour of King Leopold II of Belgium, the post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids over 300 kilometres below Leopoldville. At first, all arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi, the port below the rapids and 150 km from the coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway, in 1898, provided a route around the rapids. In 1914, a pipeline was installed so that oil could be transported from Matadi to the upriver steamers in Leopoldville. By 1923, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo, the town, nicknamed Léo or Leopold, became a commercial centre and grew rapidly during the colonial period. In 1965, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu seized power in the Congo in his coup and initiated a policy of Africanizing the names of people. In 1966, Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa, for a village named Kinchassa that once stood near the site, the city grew rapidly under Mobutu, drawing people from across the country who came in search of their fortunes or to escape ethnic strife elsewhere. This inevitably brought a change to the ethnic and linguistic composition. In the 1990s, an uprising began, which, by 1997, had brought down the regime of Mobutu. Kinshasa suffered greatly from Mobutus excesses, mass corruption, nepotism, nevertheless, it is still a major cultural and intellectual centre for Central Africa, with a flourishing community of musicians and artists. It is also the major industrial centre, processing many of the natural products brought from the interior. The city has recently had to fend off rioting soldiers, who were protesting the failure to pay them
4.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, East Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named, and is still called, Zaire. It is the second-largest country in Africa by area and eleventh largest in the world, the Congolese Civil Wars, which began in 1996, brought about the end of Mobutu Sese Sekos 32-year reign and devastated the country. These wars ultimately involved nine African nations, multiple groups of UN peacekeepers and twenty armed groups, besides the capital, Kinshasa, the other major cities, Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi, are both mining communities. DR Congos largest export is raw minerals, with China accepting over 50% of DRCs exports in 2012, as of 2015, according to the Human Development Index, DR Congo has a low level of human development, ranking 176 out of 187 countries. The country was known officially as the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 27 October 1971, in 1992, the Sovereign National Conference voted to change the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the change was not put into practice. The countrys name was restored by former president Laurent-Désiré Kabila following the fall of longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, some historians think that Bantu peoples began settling in the extreme northwest of Central Africa at the beginning of the 5th century and then gradually started to expand southward. Their propagation was accelerated by the transition from Stone Age to Iron Age techniques, the people living in the south and southwest were mostly San Bushmen and hunter-gatherer groups, whose technology involved only minimal use of metal technologies. The development of tools during this time period revolutionized agriculture. This led to the displacement of the groups in the east and southeast. The 10th century marked the expansion of the Bantu in West-Central Africa. Rising populations soon made intricate local, regional and foreign commercial networks that traded mostly in salt, iron. Belgian exploration and administration took place from the 1870s until the 1920s and it was first led by Sir Henry Morton Stanley, who undertook his explorations under the sponsorship of King Leopold II of Belgium. The eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slave raiding, mainly from Arab–Swahili slave traders such as the infamous Tippu Tip, Leopold had designs on what was to become the Congo as a colony. Leopold formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Conference of Berlin in 1885 and he named it the Congo Free State. Leopolds rėgime began various infrastructure projects, such as construction of the railway ran from the coast to the capital of Leopoldville. Nearly all such projects were aimed at making it easier to increase the assets which Leopold. In the Free State, colonists brutalized the local population into producing rubber, for which the spread of automobiles, rubber sales made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels and Ostend to honor himself and his country
5.
Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
Politics of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in a framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a semi-presidential republic. On 18 and 19 December 2005, a nationwide referendum was carried out on a draft constitution. Early UN reports indicate that the voting was for the most part peaceful, but spurred violence in parts of the war-torn east. In 2006, many Congolese complained that the constitution was an ambiguous document and were unaware of its contents. This is due in part to the rates of illiteracy in the country. However, interim President Kabila urged Congolese to vote Yes, saying the constitution is the countrys best hope for peace in the future,25 million Congolese turned out for the two-day balloting. According to results released in January 2006, the constitution was approved by 84% of voters, the new constitution also aims to decentralize authority, dividing the vast nation into 25 semi-autonomous provinces, drawn along ethnic and cultural lines. The countrys first democratic elections in four decades were held on 30 July 2006, polling was once again facilitated - yet not run - by UN peacekeepers. From the day King Leopold II established colonial authority in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo to today, the Regime of Marshall Mobutu Sese Seko lasted 32 years, during which all but the first seven years the country was named Zaire. One particularity of the Regime was the claim to be thriving for a system, different from Western. This lasted roughly between the establishment of Zaire in 1971, and the beginning of the transition towards democracy. This was true at the regular peoples level as everywhere else and it had both executive oversight authority, and in practice, binding legislative authority, as it dictated the party platform. The committee was headed by Mobutu, the Vice-President of the committee was essentially the countrys Vice-President, without the succession rights. The Executive Council, known elsewhere as the Government or the Cabinet and this was the executive authority in the country, made of State Commissioners. For a long period of time, Mobutu was the leader of the Executive Council. He eventually started appointing First State Commissioners, with largely coordinating powers, the last First State Commissioner was Kengo Wa Dondo. The Supreme Court, The only seemingly independent branch was the judiciary, but in effect, it was subordinate to a Judicial Council over which the regime had a very strong influence. Every aspect of life was regulated to some degree by the party, most of the petty aspects of the regime disappeared after 1990, and the beginning of the democratic transition
6.
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is Congos elected head of state, and the ex officio supreme commander of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The position of president in the DRC has existed since the first constitution – known as The Fundamental Law – of 1960. However the powers of this position have varied over the years, from a limited shared role in the branch, with a prime minister. Under the current constitution, the President exists as the highest institution in a semi-presidential Republic, the president is protected by the Republican Guard. The constitutional mandate of the current president, Joseph Kabila, was due to expire on 20 December 2016 but has extended until the end of 2017. The semi-presidential system established by the constitution is largely borrowed from the French constitution, although it is the prime minister and parliament that oversee much of the nations actual lawmaking, the president wields significant influence, both formally and from constitutional convention. The president holds the nations most senior office, and outranks all other politicians, perhaps the presidents greatest power is his or her ability to choose the prime minister. When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, still, the constitutional convention is that the president directs foreign policy, though he must work on that matter with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. When the majority of the Assembly sides with him, the President can take an active role and may. The prime minister is de often a mere fuse – and can be replaced if the administration becomes unpopular and he guarantees the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the nation and ensures the observance of international treaties. The president appoints the Prime Minister and, acting on the advice of the latter, appoints, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and chairs the High Defense Council. The president may declare war with the authorization of both chambers of parliament, after deliberation by the Council of Ministers, and after hearing the opinion of the High Defense Council, the President may grant pardons or commute or reduce sentences. The President appoints and accredits ambassadors to foreign countries and international organizations, the President defines national policy in coordination with the government and is responsible, in cooperation with the government, for defense, security, and foreign affairs. The president has a limited form of suspensive veto, when presented with a law, he or she can request another reading of it by parliament. Additionally, the President must be free of any legal constraints on their civil, article 10 of the same constitution defines citoyen dorigine as, anyone belonging to the ethnic groups whose persons and territory constituted what became the Congo, at independence. Articles 75 and 76 of the state that upon the death or resignation of the President. The President of the Senate then becomes interim president, the Independent Electoral Commission has to organize elections between sixty and ninety days after the official declaration of vacancy by the Constitutional court. The official office of the president is the Palais de la Nation in Kinshasa, the official residence of the president is the Camp Tshatshi Palace in Kinshasa, although it has not been used since it was looted in 1997
7.
Joseph Kabila
–
Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father and he was elected as President in 2006. In 2011, he was re-elected for a second term, Kabilas term was due to expire on 20 December 2016 per the constitution, adopted in 2006. Officials suggested that elections would be held in November 2016, however, on 29 September 2016, the nations electoral authority announced that the election would not be held until early 2018. Talk has focused on the need for a census before holding elections, since coming to power, Joseph Kabila has faced continuous wars in eastern Congo and internal rebel forces supported by neighboring governments of Uganda and Rwanda. Joseph Kabila Kabange and his twin sister Jaynet Kabila were born on 4 June 1971, according to official accounts, the twins were born at Hewabora, a small village in the Fizi territory of the South Kivu province, in eastern Congo. Rumors have abounded that Kabila was actually born in Tanzania, which would make him a citizen of that country and he is the son of long time rebel, former AFDL leader and president of the Congo Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Sifa Mahanya. Kabilas childhood coincided with the low point of his fathers political and he was raised in relative remoteness, with few records of his early days. Kabila attended a school organized by his fathers rebel forces. Due to his fathers status as an enemy of Zairean strongman Mobutu Sese Seko, following high school, Joseph Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime with his newly formed army, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Joseph Kabila appears to have been present at the liberation of Kisangani where media reports identified him as commander of the force that took the city after four days of intense fighting. Following the AFDLs victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabilas rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing. When he returned from China, Kabila was awarded the rank of Major-General and he was later, in 2000, appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a position he held until the elder President Kabilas assassination in January 2001. As chief of staff, he was one of the military leaders in charge of Government troops during the time of the Second Congo War. Joseph Kabila rose to the Presidency on 26 January 2001 after the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, aged 29, he was considered young and inexperienced. An interim administration was set up under him, including the leaders of the two main rebel groups as vice-presidents. On 28 March 2004, an apparent coup attempt or mutiny around the capital Kinshasa, allegedly on the part of members of the guard of former president Mobutu Sese Seko
8.
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
Under the constitution of the Third Republic, the government is composed of a cabinet of ministers, deputy-ministers, and occasionally state-ministers. The number of these vary from one government to the next. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the cabinet is commonly simply referred to as The Government. The government is accountable to the Parliament, when the Prime minister is censored, the entire government is asked to step down. The current government is referred to as the government, under the leadership of Prime minister Samy Badibanga
9.
Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
There are currently 26 provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital, Kinshasa, is a city-province, when Belgium annexed the Belgian Congo as a colony in 1908, it was initially organized into 22 districts. In 1919, the colony was organized into four provinces, Congo-Kasaï, Équateur, Orientale, in 1932, the colony was reorganized into six provinces. Initially they were named after their cities, but in 1947 regional names were adopted. The Belgian Congo became an independent country in 1960, named Republic of the Congo, by 1963, the country was organized into 21 provinces plus the capital city of Léopoldville, similar to the original 22 districts under colonial rule. In 1966, the 21 provincettes were grouped into eight provinces, in 1971, the country was renamed Zaire, and three provinces were also renamed. In 1975, the city of Kinshasa obtained the status of a province. In 1988, the province of Kivu was split into three, in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the three provinces that had been renamed in 1971 either retook their previous name or took another. The reorganization was scheduled to take effect within three years of the new constitutions promulgation, however progress was slow, in October 2007 the Minister for Decentralization, Denis Kalume Numbi, presented a bill for decentralization in the National Assembly. The subsequent debate turned up a variety of issues that first had to be addressed with changes to related laws. On 9 January 2015 the National Assembly passed a law on the new divisions of the country
10.
Districts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
The provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are divided into 26 districts. These in turn are divided into territories or communes, the 2006 constitution planned to convert many of the districts into provinces under a decentralization program. In October 2007 the Minister for Decentralization, Denis Kalume Numbi, the subsequent debate turned up a variety of issues that first had to be addressed with changes to related laws. In September 2011 the position of Minister of Decentralization was abolished, the provinces of Maniema, Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu are not divided into districts. These three provinces and all districts are divided into territories, most provinces also include cities, divided into communes, independent of the districts
11.
Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
–
Multi-party elections in the DR Congo were held in July 2006, the first multi-party elections in the country since 1960. The 1960 elections, held in the wake of independence, saw Patrice Lumumba become prime minister, in 1965 Mobutu Sese Seko seized power and declared himself president. He ruled until 1997 when Laurent Kabila seized power after the First Congo War, when Laurent Kabila was killed in 2001, his son Joseph Kabila took over the presidency while the country was going through the Second Congo War. The Second Congo War was officially declared over in 2003, the period that followed was relatively peaceful, with the United Nations largest peacekeeping force maintaining the peace. However, the Ituri Conflict marred the peace, with periods of violence in the northeastern Ituri Province, in December 2005 a referendum on a new constitution was held. It was approved, paving way for the first multiparty elections in 46 years, a general election was held on Sunday 30 July 2006, which were the first free multi-party elections in 46 years. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President, federal parliament, a run-off election was held on 29 October to choose the president as no candidate had obtained more than 50% of the vote. Joseph Kabila was elected in the round with 58% of the vote. The international community donated $460 million to fund the elections and deployed the worlds largest UN peacekeeping operation to help the stability of the election, the 2011 elections marked the second vote the country held since the Kivu Conflict that killed more than five million people. Violence marred the run-up to the 2011 Presidential election after armed men attacked polling stations, the election was also plagued by voting difficulties as some voting materials arrived late, or not at all. The presidential election involved 11 candidates, although incumbent President Joseph Kabila winning again amidst claims of vote-rigging and intimidation
12.
MONUSCO
–
Since 1999, about US$8.74 billion has been spent to fund the UN peacekeeping effort in DRC. As of December 2015, the strength of UN peacekeeping troops in DRC exceed 23,000. More than thirty nations have contributed military and police personnel for peacekeeping effort, in June 2011, it was reported that India is preparing to gradually scale back its military commitment to MONUSCO. The first liaison officers arrived in the DRC on 3 September 1999, in November 1999 the number of liaison officers totaled 39, distributed in the capitals of the warring countries including 24 who were stationed in Kinshasa. In January 2000 they reached the number of 79 and they were spread over the territory of DRC. Their mission was to liaise with all the factions, give a technical assistance. On 24 February 2000 with the resolution 1291, the U. N. Security Council authorized the deployment of a maximum of 5537 military personnel in the DRC, on 4 April 2000 the Senegalese Major General Mountago Diallo was appointed as the commander of MONUCs military force. Acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter the U. N, in December 2000 there were 224 military personnel deployed, including 148 observers in 13 points around the country. The observers could only record the non-application of the Ceasefire, the violent fighting at Kisangani and in the Equateur, the deployment of UN troops was impossible due to the security situation and the reluctance of the Congolese government. In March 2001, the first Uruguayan guard unit arrived in Kalemie, the force was deployed in four sectors at Kananga, Kisangani, Kalemie and Mbandaka. In July 2001, the strength was of 2366 soldiers. They came from South Africa, Uruguay, Morocco, Senegal, guard units protected MONUC installations in Kinshasa, Kananga, Kisangani, Kalemie, Goma and Mbandaka. A Uruguayan riverine unit and a South African air medical evacuation team were also deployed, with Security Council Resolution 1376, the Security Council launched the third phase of the deployment of MONUC troops, in the East of DRC. The site for the base was planned to be Kindu. In 2002, the 450 military observers, split in 95 teams, the teams also investigated violations of the Ceasefire. Foreign troops continued to leave the country, the riverine units escorted the first ships on the Congo river, which was again open to commercial traffic. In June 2002 the UN troops total number was 3804, contingents from Ghana and Bolivia joined the force, of which more than a third of the soldiers were Uruguayan. More than a thousand soldiers were deployed in Kisangani, on 14 May 2002, a military observer died near Ikela following the explosion of a mine under his vehicle
13.
Senate (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
–
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the transition period in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and this task came to fruition with the adoption of the draft in Parliament in May 2005, and its approval by the Congolese people, in a successful democratic referendum on 18 and 19 December 2005. The current President of the Senate is Kengo Wa Dondo, elected in May 2007, the Secretary General is David Byaza Sanda Lutala. Members of the Senate are indirectly elected based on proportional representation by the Provincial Assemblies, each of the 25 provinces elects four senators, with the exception of the city-province of Kinshasa, which elects 8. Elected senators serve 5 year terms, former presidents sit as senators for life by right. Senators were elected under the new constitution on 19 January 2007 by the parliaments of their respective provinces
14.
People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
–
The Peoples Party for Reconstruction and Democracy is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the structure established by the current president of the country. Forbes writer Richard Miniter documented the wealth of Joseph Kabila, estimated at US $15 billion in offshore banks in the British Virgin Islands, in the 2006 general election the PPRD won 111 out of 500 seats in the lower house of parliament and became the largest party in parliament. The 2006 general election was the first free election since the 1960s, on November 27,2006, the presidential candidate supported by the PPRD, Joseph Kabila, was declared the winner of the 2006 Presidential elections, by the Supreme Court of Justice. In the 19 January 2007 Senate elections, the party won 22 out of 108 seats, the party also forms part of the Alliance of the Presidential Majority, which is the majority bloc in the National Assembly
15.
Jean-Pierre Bemba
–
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2006. Bemba also leads the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo and he received the second highest number of votes in the 2006 presidential election. In January 2007 he was elected to the Senate and he was arrested near Brussels on 24 May 2008 on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. On 21 March 2016, he was convicted on these charges, on 21 June 2016, he was imprisoned on an 18 year sentence following a landmark conviction at the International Criminal Court for war crimes and sexual violence. On 28 September 2016, he appealed against his conviction alleging a mistrial and he is considered to be a leader by a segment of the Congolese population. He awaits further sentencing for corruptly influencing witnesses through means of bribery during his trial for war crimes, Bemba was born in Bokada, Nord-Ubangi. In 2002, President Ange-Félix Patassé of the Central African Republic invited the MLC to come to his country, Human rights activists accused MLC fighters of committing atrocities against civilians in the course of this conflict. Bemba was one of 33 candidates who ran in the Congolese presidential election on 30 July 2006 and his main campaign slogan — One Hundred Percent Congolese — was widely perceived as an attack on frontrunner President Joseph Kabila. Bemba received substantial support in the western, Lingala-speaking portion of the country, including the capital, the ambassadors were forced to seek refuge in a cellar. Kabila and Bemba faced each other in a round, held on October 29. The electoral commission announced the results on November 15, naming Kabila the winner with 58. 05% of the vote. On November 27,2006, the Supreme Court of the DRC rejected the charges brought by Bemba. He did not attend Kabilas swearing-in ceremony on December 6, on December 8, the MLC announced that Bemba would run for a Senate seat from Kinshasa in the January 2007 senatorial election, and he succeeded in winning a seat. A dispute over Bembas personal guard led to an outbreak of fighting near Bembas residence in Kinshasa on March 22,2007. Bembas guard did not obey a March 15 deadline to register at a base in order to be incorporated into the military. In the fighting, a number of people, including soldiers and civilians, were reported killed. Bemba called for a ceasefire and negotiations and took refuge in the South African embassy, as fighting continued on March 23, it was announced that a warrant for Bembas arrest had been issued, accusing him of high treason
16.
Antoine Gizenga
–
Antoine Gizenga is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 30 December 2006 to 10 October 2008. He is the Secretary-General of the Unified Lumumbist Party, antoine Gizenga was born on 5 October 1925 in Mbanza, in western Kwilu Province of the Belgian Congo. He attended a Catholic missionary primary school and received his education at the Kinzambi. He became an ordained Catholic priest in 1947 and led a parish out of his home in Kwilu and he left his position for personal reasons and took several clerical and accounting jobs. After briefly serving in law enforcement for the government, Gizenga became a teacher at a secondary Catholic school. He soon thereafter married Anne Mbuba, with whom he later had four children, inspired by the nationalist and Pan-Africanist ideas of Patrice Lumumba, the cofounder of the Mouvement National Congolais, Gizenga helped to organize the Parti Solidaire Africain. He later became leader of the party, following independence and free elections in 1960, Gizenga became Lumumbas deputy prime minister of the new Republic of the Congo. In September, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu dismissed Lumumba and Gizenga from their positions for the decision to involve the Soviet Union in the Congo Crisis. Lumumba protested, and the government went into a deadlock over the issue, a coup launched shortly thereafter by Colonel Joseph Mobutu politically incapacitated both Lumumba and the President, though Mobutu soon developed a working relationship with the latter. Gizenga objected to the new government and left for Stanleyville on 13 November to form his own, on 12 December, he declared his government, the Free Republic of the Congo, to be the legitimate ruling authority in the Congo. Lumumba had attempted to join him, but was arrested and eventually executed in the State of Katanga in January 1961, Gizengas government persisted for half the year and garnered diplomatic recognition from the Soviet Union, China, and Egypt, though it received no logistical support. In August, Gizenga agreed to rejoin the regular Congolese government as deputy prime minister, aside from his reinstatement ceremony, he chose to stay out of Léopoldville and remained in Stanleyville. Gizenga soon realized that Adoula was under the influence of Western governments and he denounced Adoula and declared that the government was committing treason. In January 1962 the Congolese Assembly demanded that Gizenga return to Léopoldville to hear charges levied against him for leading a rebel government and he replied that he would only come back when the Katangan secession was resolved. Gizenga then attempted to arrest Armée Nationale Congolaise Commander-in-Chief Victor Lundula, the plan backfired when Gizengas militiamen refused to obey his orders. Clashes between his supporters and Congolese soldiers ensued, resulting in several deaths. United Nations Secretary General U Thant ordered peacekeeping troops to restore order in Stanleyville, while Adoula had Gizenga placed under house arrest by UN and he was flown back to Léopoldville via UN aircraft and detained at Camp Kokolo. Gizenga turned down an offer of UN protection and was imprisoned on the island Bula Mbemba in the mouth of the Congo River
