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CONGO

Plenty on the president’s plate

It’s been far from plain sailing for long-serving President Denis Sassou-Nguesso a few months in to his new term in office delivered by a contested election victory in March. Against a backdrop of financial instability, the head of state has [...] (630 words)

Issue dated 14/12/2016 Reading time 3 minutes

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CONGO
Ali Bongo
Andre Okombi Salissa
Basile Boka
Benjamin Fa
Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme
Conseil National de Securite
Denis Gokana
Denis Sassou-Nguesso
Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso
Direction Generale de la Securite Presidentielle
Edgar Nguesso
Forces Armees Congolaises
Grande Loge du Congo
Guy-Blanchard Okoi
Hugues Ngouelondele
Jean-Dominique Okemba
Jean-Francois Ndenguet
Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko
Jean-Martin Mbemba
Marc Mapingou Mitoumbi
Ninelle Sassou Nguesso
Norbert Tricaud
Parti Congolais du Travail
Paulin Makaya
Pierre Ngolo
Serge Oboa
Simon Fouekele
SNPC
Unis pour le Congo
Yvon Eric Ibouanga

Congo's Masonic lodges fall under control of securocrats

Two of the three main lodges in Congo are now headed by the powerful securocrats Jean-Dominique Okemba and Philippe Obara. [...]

CONGO 21/05/2020

President Sassou's kin back rival runners for Brazzaville mayor

Several members of the first family have their own favourite for the capital's top job. [...]

CONGO 04/12/2019

Pierre Moussa to be new PCT secretary-general?

To prevent the disintegration of the Parti congolais du travail (PCT) amid a fractious leadership battle (WAN 808), President Denis [...]

CONGO 25/09/2019

War of the cousins around Denis Sassou Nguesso

Holed up in his native stronghold of Oyo in the [...]

CONGO 02/01/2019

Valere Eteka Yemet, the new CNDH boss

Taken to task over the human rights situation in his country, Denis Sassou Nguesso has revived the Commission nationale des [...]

CONGO 28/11/2018

Raymond Zephirin Mboulou the peacemaker

Antagonised by attacks against his regime by various organisations within the Congolese diaspora in Paris, Denis Sassou Nguesso has asked [...]

CONGO 03/10/2018

Denis Sassou Nguesso gives his inner circle a facelift

The president has deigned to bring in new faces, many of whom are the offspring of long-standing allies. [...]

CONGO 17/07/2018

SNPC: Alphonse Okoye's agenda already shaped by IMF pressure

The new board chairman of the Societe nationale des petroles du Congo (SNPC) and former director general of external trade, [...]

CONGO 04/07/2018

The Mbochis remain at the helm of the SNPC

Despite extensive restructuring in recent months, the oil company remains firmly in the hands of the president's ethnic group. Analysis. [...]

CONGO 23/05/2018

Why Sassou Nguesso is eliminating all his opponents Free

Following the guilty verdict against General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko (aka J3M, WAN 773), his challenger in the March 2016 presidential [...]

CONGO 09/05/2018

Mokoko's lawyer Yvon-Eric Ibouanga squares up to Sassou Nguesso

A member of the Brazzaville bar since 2006, Yvon-Eric Ibouanga is acting as the principal lawyer for General Jean-Marie Michel [...]

CONGO 21/03/2018

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso seeks refuge within the government

Driven out of the Societe nationale des petroles du Congo, the president's youngest son looks set to obtain a ministerial portfolio. [...]

CONGO 07/03/2018

Raoul Ominga named SNPC head to appease the Mbochi clan

On 28 February, Raoul Ominga, a consensual figure within the Mbochi clan of Oyo, the birthplace of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, was [...]

CONGO 24/01/2018

Andre Okombi Salissa follows in the footsteps of Mokoko

The trial of Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko (alias ‘J3M'), the prominent opponent of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, will doubtless draw a lot of [...]

CONGO 10/01/2018

JDO's strategy for paving the way for the future

In the race to succeed Denis Sassou N'Guesso, it would appear that the secret service chief has developed the most extensive network of allies. [...]

CONGO 06/12/2017

Sassou beefs up his security apparatus courtesy of Leonard Noel Essongo

Denis Sassou-Nguesso has bolstered his security apparatus with the appointment on 25 November of the 69-year-old general Leonard Noel Essongo, [...]

CONGO 06/12/2017

Fierce battles for supremacy loom at the PCT

Several figures are secretly manoeuvring to seize the reins of the ruling party. The first phase in replacing Denis Sassou Nguesso? [...]

CONGO 12/07/2017

Christ Bonaventure, Sassou's man in Luanda

Christ Bonaventure Engobo, the 70-year-old deputy secretary general of the Conseil National de Securite (CNS, secret services) headed by Jean-Dominique [...]

CONGO 12/07/2017

Pointe-Noire, the barometer of pro- and anti-Sassou opinion

The oil capital remains a weathervane for the president's electoral chances. [...]

CONGO 28/06/2017

Ngatse Mbouala in tug of war with Okemba

Recognizable from his long white beard that seems to cover half of his face, the commander of Congo-B's Garde Republicaine [...]

CONGO 14/06/2017

Nitou-Samba, mouthpiece for "Pastor Ntoumi" in France

An associate in France - and Europe - of Frederic Bintsamou, a k a Pasteur Ntoumi, Gaston Nitou-Samba was contacted [...]

CONGO 14/06/2017

Shakeup at AOGC

Faced with management problems and strapped for cash, Denis Gokana [...]

CONGO 14/06/2017

Sassou faces election as happy head of the household

Unwavering in the face of conflict in the Pool region, the president has placed most of his children and other relatives on the list for upcoming elections. [...]

CONGO 31/05/2017

Sassou to decide Mokoko's fate before legislative elections

Congo-B's president wants to haul his main adversary into court before the election even though the evidence against him isn't all that strong. [...]

CONGO 17/05/2017

Mouamba tiptoes into presidential territory

Previously confined to economic issues since he was named in 2016, the prime minister is now having his say in other key areas. [...]

CONGO 03/05/2017

Would-be successors nipping at Sassou Nguesso's heels

Two relatives of Congo-B's president are competing with one another as if to prepare for the future. [...]

CONGO 01/03/2017

Leon Raphael Mokoko expected in Brussels

Denis Sassou-Nguesso is due to appoint a new ambassador to the European Union (EU) and Belgium following the recall in [...]

Breaking newsCONGO 17/02/2017

Pigasse Jr. to take on government’s defamation case

Paris lawyer Thomas Pigasse, who is the son of Jean-Paul Pigasse, owner of regime-supporting daily Les Depeches de Brazzaville, is [...]

Breaking newsCONGO FRANCE 17/02/2017

Why Collard has been asked to testify in Mokoko case

As West African Newsletter reported (WAN 747), French lawyer Gilbert Collard was asked in early February by Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, [...]

Spotlight

CONGO 15/02/2017

Sassou Nguesso deals a death blow to his foes

It hasn’t been plain sailing for Denis Sassou-Nguesso since he won a comfortable election victory last March in defiance of a constitutional ban against his running for office again. Having little tolerance for his fiercest adversaries’ criticisms, the Congolese president [. [...]

CONGO 01/02/2017

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso organises a press junket Free

The favourite son of Congo-B's president has invited several French journalists for an all-expenses-paid trip to show off his charity works. [...]

CONGO 18/01/2017

Journalist held for alleged subversion

The journalist Ghys Fortune Dombe Bemba, the head of the Talassa newspaper, was arrested at 5 am on Jan. 11 [...]

CONGO FRANCE 18/01/2017

Mapingou prepares his lawsuit against Brazzaville

The defamation case brought by opposition politician Marc Mapingou Mitoumbi will be heard on March 15 at the Tribunal de [...]

CONGO 18/01/2017

Why Sassou is getting heavy with the radical opposition

The arrest of Andre Okombi Salissa caps the president’s determination to neutralise his staunchest opponents. [...]

CONGO 04/01/2017

Sassou reorganises the armed forces

Against a backdrop of fierce military tensions (WAN 741), President [...]

CONGO 14/12/2016

Can Calixte Nganongo sort out the economic crisis?

Minister of finance, budget and state enterprises since April, Calixte Nganongo, 64, will in the next few weeks open negotiations [...]

CONGO FRANCE 30/11/2016

Benjamin fa (Prism Avocats) makes his African debut

Until now very active in China, lawyer Benjamin Fa, founder [...]

CONGO 16/11/2016

Unrest in Pool region threatens Brazzaville’s economy

Repression by the head of state in the rebellious department is having a knock-on effect in the capital. [...]

CONGO 19/10/2016

Kiki, JDO and the mayor: Rival camps flex their muscles ahead of polls

In the run-up to next year’s legislative elections, competing political clans try to steal a march for dominance within the president’s entourage. [...]

Spotlight

CONGO 24/02/2016

Sassou aims for reelection, by hook or by crook

Barring a most unlikely upset, Congolese leader Denis Sassou-Nguesso is expected to sail through the country’s presidential elections next month having done everything possible to ensure that the poll can only have one outcome - not least changing the constitution [. [...]

CONGO 14/10/2015

Mboshi secure Sassou’s constitution referendum Free

The Congolese security services, headed by relatives of the president or members of his Mboshi ethnic group, are on standby to ensure his referendum on the constitution goes smoothly. [...]

Spotlight

CONGO 04/02/2015

Post-Sassou in play in Brazzaville’s corridors of power

Even though they are apparently fully behind President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s plan to amend the constitution so that he can run for office again in 2016, the Congolese leader’s close guard are in fact keeping their options open, as West Africa [. [...]

CONGO 21/01/2015

The rise and rise of Jean-Dominique Okemba

Jean-Dominique – JDO - Okemba, the nephew of Denis Sassou-Nguesso and head of the Conseil Nationale de Securite (CNS), the [...]

Spotlight

CONGO 27/08/2014

Sassou negotiates way to 2016 elections

With the next presidential elections in the Republic of Congo less than two years away, it seems that nothing can stop Denis Sassou-Nguesso, 71, from running for another term, even though the constitution that he himself approved forbids it. [...]

Receive free prompts for these topics

CONGO
Ali Bongo
Andre Okombi Salissa
Basile Boka
Benjamin Fa
Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme
Conseil National de Securite
Denis Gokana
Denis Sassou-Nguesso
Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso
Direction Generale de la Securite Presidentielle
Edgar Nguesso
Forces Armees Congolaises
Grande Loge du Congo
Guy-Blanchard Okoi
Hugues Ngouelondele
Jean-Dominique Okemba
Jean-Francois Ndenguet
Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko
Jean-Martin Mbemba
Marc Mapingou Mitoumbi
Ninelle Sassou Nguesso
Norbert Tricaud
Parti Congolais du Travail
Paulin Makaya
Pierre Ngolo
Serge Oboa
Simon Fouekele
SNPC
Unis pour le Congo
Yvon Eric Ibouanga

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Plenty on the president’s plate

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Receive free prompts for these topics

Congo's Masonic lodges fall under control of securocrats

President Sassou's kin back rival runners for Brazzaville mayor

Pierre Moussa to be new PCT secretary-general?

War of the cousins around Denis Sassou Nguesso

Valere Eteka Yemet, the new CNDH boss

Raymond Zephirin Mboulou the peacemaker

Denis Sassou Nguesso gives his inner circle a facelift

SNPC: Alphonse Okoye's agenda already shaped by IMF pressure

The Mbochis remain at the helm of the SNPC

Why Sassou Nguesso is eliminating all his opponents Free

Mokoko's lawyer Yvon-Eric Ibouanga squares up to Sassou Nguesso

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso seeks refuge within the government

Raoul Ominga named SNPC head to appease the Mbochi clan

Andre Okombi Salissa follows in the footsteps of Mokoko

JDO's strategy for paving the way for the future

Sassou beefs up his security apparatus courtesy of Leonard Noel Essongo

Fierce battles for supremacy loom at the PCT

Christ Bonaventure, Sassou's man in Luanda

Pointe-Noire, the barometer of pro- and anti-Sassou opinion

Ngatse Mbouala in tug of war with Okemba

Nitou-Samba, mouthpiece for "Pastor Ntoumi" in France

Shakeup at AOGC

Sassou faces election as happy head of the household

Sassou to decide Mokoko's fate before legislative elections

Mouamba tiptoes into presidential territory

Would-be successors nipping at Sassou Nguesso's heels

Leon Raphael Mokoko expected in Brussels

Pigasse Jr. to take on government’s defamation case

Why Collard has been asked to testify in Mokoko case

Sassou Nguesso deals a death blow to his foes

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso organises a press junket Free

Journalist held for alleged subversion

Mapingou prepares his lawsuit against Brazzaville

Why Sassou is getting heavy with the radical opposition

Sassou reorganises the armed forces

Can Calixte Nganongo sort out the economic crisis?

Benjamin fa (Prism Avocats) makes his African debut

Unrest in Pool region threatens Brazzaville’s economy

Kiki, JDO and the mayor: Rival camps flex their muscles ahead of polls

Sassou aims for reelection, by hook or by crook

Mboshi secure Sassou’s constitution referendum Free

Post-Sassou in play in Brazzaville’s corridors of power

The rise and rise of Jean-Dominique Okemba

Sassou negotiates way to 2016 elections

Receive free prompts for these topics

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