A crazy MP called Evariste Ejiba Yamampya--the scatterbrain alsohappens to be an evangelical bishop--introduced a Ugandan-likeanti-gay bill called "Projet de loi sur les pratiques sexuellescontre-nature" (Bill on sexual practices against nature).Fortunately, last Friday October 22, the bishop's madness was soundlyrejected by the National Assembly, which deemed it "inadmissible."The prophet opened his rambling statement by wishing the Lord to blessthe Speaker Evariste Boshab--a wish that was promptly turned down bythe Speaker who reminded the messenger...
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Radio Okapi reports this evening that Presidential Guards detached asbodyguards to Zoé Kabila, one of the Raïs' younger brothers, savagelyassaulted traffic cops today at the Socimat Circle in downtownKinshasa.There were no much details given about the incident in the Radio Okapireport. But my guess is that Zoé Kabila, who has the reputation ofbeing bratty with a distorted sense of entitlement, wanted to gothrough the traffic circle without bothering with the nuisance oftraffic rules and was prevented from doing so by highway cops who actas traffic...
Yesterday evening, I couldn't believe it when I saw a campaign flyerfor Guinean presidential candidate Alpha Condé in a shoe store ownedby "Ndingaris"--as all West Africans are called here--at the bustlingneighborhood of Place Victoire in the Kalamu Commune.There are several Guineans in this neighborhood. And I personally knowa young Guinean kebab maker on Oshwe Avenue I've nicknamed GeneralDadis Camara. But I thought all of them were only merchantsuninterested in politics.Hence, my puzzlement...As I was pondering whether to walk into the shoe...
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Lituma in itself can justify a trip to the Congo. In fact I mayextend my stint in the Congo this time around just for the gourmetexperience of lituma and other irreplaceable Congolese gastronomictreats.Who would blame me? You can't get lituma anywhere else in the world.Not even in restaurants of the Chaussée d'Ixelles, the Brusselsneighborhood the Congolese diaspora has rechristened Matonge after thefamous Kinshasa neighborhood that saw the rise...
Raining on Lipopo(Photo: Alex Engwete)***1. Rain at long lastThe first downpour of the rainy season started falling on theCongolese capital yesterday at around 4 pm.The rain was preceded by heavy black clouds that bore down on the cityfrom the east. Though it rained cats and dogs, the whole disturbancewas mostly quiet--except for one or two lightnings...Have the Chinese finally opened the floodgates of Kinshasa skies?2. In a statement released yesterday,...
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
At midday today, DRC Communication Minister Lambert Mende Omelangaheld a marathon press conference of about an hour and a half.As per usual, the man rambled on and on, lashing out especially at theUN Mapping Project Report and at those who questioned the officialversion of suicide of Armand Tungulu Kudiandambu, the man who stonedthe Raïs motorcade.Lambert Mende's performance reminded me of that of the spokeswoman ofthe Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs who recently came out swingingagainst the Nobel Committee which saw it fit to award the Nobel...
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Kudura Kasongo as a newscast anchor(TV screen shot by Alex Engwete)***Kudura Kasongo, erstwhile spokesperson of Joseph Kabila, has of latereinvented himself... He now anchors the newscast of Congo MédiaChannel, a TV station he owns.I should add that it's a reinvention to his previous incarnation:under Mobutu, Kudura Kasongo worked for a long time as an anchor atthe state-owned "La Voix Zaïre" (Voice of Zaire) before moving on toother prominent positions...
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Members of the political committee of AMP, the "Alliance de laMajorité Présidentielle" (Alliance of Presidential Majority), areholed up at the Raïs' farm at Kingakati, a 2-hour drive east ofKinshasa, for a weekend-long strategy session billed as the "KingakatiConclave."The meeting is by no means a "distribution of positions" ingovernment, a senior member of the platform told reporters to allaythe anxiety of the rank and file of the Alliance who may feel leftout.He added that this weekend conclave is simply a meeting between keyleaders of the platform's...
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Opposition MP Christophe Beyeye (TV screen shot by Alex Engwete)***1) MP Christophe Beyeye's Conspiracy TheoryYesterday afternoon at the National Assembly, MP Christophe Beyeyeintroduced a motion calling for an investigative commission based onthe findings of the recently published UN Mapping Project Report.The motion was promptly dismissed by Speaker Evariste Boshab for lackof "terms of reference" and the uncertain constitutionality of using areport...
Monday, 4 October 2010
(Post sent via BlackBerry using local SIM card. Post format could be affected.)***Chinese have switched off rain over Kinshasa, says Radio-Trottoir. "They're nearing the deadline for road constructions in Kinshasa,"claimed a Kinoise in a taxi-bus today. " So, they just switched offrain."Asked how the Chinese did it, the woman said it was with their"sorcery" that they are warding off rain!She then went on to say that even in the Congo there are "tribes,"like...
Sunday, 3 October 2010
(Sorry for any formatting problems: I'm sending this post via BlackBerry.))The guy who threw 2 stones at the Rais's vehicle in Kinshasa has beenidentified.It was ARMAND TUNGULU, a Brussels resident who was on a family visitin Kinshasa, radio stations of the Congolese capital reported lastnight.The reports also stated that Armand Tungulu had committed suicide witha cloth he used as his pillow in his cell. An investigation and anautopsy have been ordered by the authorities.If anything, these reports establish the credibility of Radio-Trottoirwhich...
Friday, 1 October 2010
The posture of this Kinshasa contortionist showing off his butt isemblematic of the general attitude of the Kinois toward the UN MappingProject due to be released today.The report documents acts of targeted atrocities in eastern DRCagainst Hutu refugees--helpless women, kids, infants and the elderly.BBC reports this morning that though "toned down," the report retainsthe "charge of genocide" perpetrated against Hutu refugees...A vindication indeed...
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