Demokratyczna Republika Kongo
Miny i pałac - pozostałości po Mobutu Sese Seko
JB Russell / COSMOS PHOTO
The Democratic Republic of Congo has known little more than exploitation, suffering and
conflict throughout its history. In recent decades, civil war, violence between various rebel
groups in the East of the country and the consequences of those conflicts have claimed
millions of lives. The seemingly endless bloodshed became an intractable weight around the
entire country’s neck as it sucked up so much of Congo’s political and military resources[...]
In the 1960s, the former President of what was then Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, decided to
honor his ancestral home - a small town deep in the vast forests of northern Congo. Mobutu
built Gabodolite into a luxurious town often nicknamed "Versailles in the Jungle". He built a
hydroelectric dam on the nearby river in Mobayi Mbongo providing the town with electricity
24 hours a day, the Moanda International Airport, which could accommodate the Concorde, a
Coca Cola bottling plant and three large palaces.Two palaces were built outside Gbadolite at
Kawele: an elaborate complex of Chinese pagodas said to be a perfect replica of the
Forbidden City and a modern mansion with terraces and swimming pools. Both were used as
residences for Mobutu and guests. The three-storey palace in Gbadolite itself was used
primarily for public functions. The population of Gbadolite, many of whom are directly
related to Mobutu, blossomed under the development. They worked as servants in the
palaces, on Mobutu’s vast plantations and in construction and road building companies. In the
later years of his rule, Mobutu resided and ran the country in large part from Gbadolite far
from the seat of power in Kinshasa.
Log in to your account or as a guest to see more images
|
