Kabila, Laurent

Kabila, Laurent (Désiré)

(born 1939, Jadotville, Belgian Congo—died Jan. 18?, 2001, en route to Harare, Zimb.) Rebel leader and president (1997–2001) of Congo (Kinshasa). He attended schools abroad, including military school in China, before participating in several Marxist-inspired uprisings in Zaire in the 1960s and '70s. He later became a trader in precious minerals and ivory. In the Rwandan civil war, Kabila collaborated with Paul Kagame in attacking Hutu guerrilla groups in Zaire as well as Zairean government forces. His troops ousted Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997, and Kabila proclaimed himself president and renamed the country. His repressive policies soon led to a new and larger war, in which many African states sent troops and aid to both sides. His assassination was apparently engineered by his own officers; his son Joseph (b. 1971) succeeded him.