Whereas Mobutu had packed his administration with supporters from his home province of Équateur, Kabila handed out key positions in government, the armed forces, security services and public companies to fellow Swahili-speaking Katangese, notably members of the Lubakat group of northern Katanga, his father’s tribe.” Two key ministries were awarded to cousins the new chief of staff of the army, James Kabarebe, was a Rwandan Tutsi who had grown up in Uganda the deputy chief of staff and commander of land forces was his 26-year-old son, Joseph the national police chief was a brother-in-law.
Lacking a political organisation of his own, he surrounded himself with friends and family members and relied heavily for support and protection on Rwanda and Banyamulenge. He refused to engage with established opposition groups or with civic organisations and banned political parties. Secretive and paranoid, he had no political programme, no strategic vision and no experience of running a government. “In reality, Kabila was no more than a petty tyrant propelled to prominence by accident. His most recent book is Born in Africa, published by Jonathan Ball Publishers.more He is the author of Diamonds, Gold and War, Mugabe: Power, Plunder – which sold over 15 000 copies in South Africa, and The Struggle for Zimbabwe’s Future, The State of Africa and Nelson Mandela: A Biography, among many others. Meredith’s writing has been described as authoritative and well-documented, despite the pessimism inherent in his subject matter. Residing near Oxford, he is now an independent commentator and author. Meredith first worked as a foreign correspondent in Africa for the Observer and Sunday Times, then as a research fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. His most recent book is Born in Africa, published by Jonathan Ball P Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist and biographer, and author of many acclaimed books on Africa.
Martin Meredith is a historian, journalist and biographer, and author of many acclaimed books on Africa.
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