Where Did Mobutu Go?

In 1949 Mobutu stowed away aboard a boat, traveling downriver to Léopoldville, where he met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later. At the end of the school year, in lieu of being sent to prison, he was ordered to serve seven years in the colonial army, the Force Publique (FP).

What did Mobutu do in the Congo?

During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu led a coup against the nationalist government of Patrice Lumumba. He wanted to take control of the government of Congo-Léopoldville. He soon became the army chief of staff. In 1965 he led a second coup to be Prime Minister.

What happened to the country Zaire?

The country was a one-party totalitarian dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. ... Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the country in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence.