January 17, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

CONGOÕS ÒSAVIOURÓ SHOT DEAD

LONDON, January 17, Graphic News: AFTER spending much of his life as a rebel, Laurent Kabila became the CongoÕs president and ÒsaviourÓ in 1997 only to see his regime face its own rebellion.

On Tuesday, the future of KabilaÕs Democratic Republic of Congo was thrown into question, with reports that the strongman died after being shot by his personal bodyguard during an argument with senior generals.

While the Kinshasa government would not elaborate publicly, both KabilaÕs U.S. spokesman and the Belgian foreign ministry confirm that the president had been killed.

The reported shooting follows mounting discontent in the army, which has recently suffered setbacks in the 18-month civil war. Three generals were arrested last week.

Kabila, who for years lead a Congolese insurgent movement, was swept into the international limelight when he was picked to lead a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebel army that deposed longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997.

He promised to rebuild the nation left in ruins by Mobutu, who became one of the worldÕs richest men by plundering the countryÕs vast mineral wealth.

But before Kabila had even reached the capital, Kinshasa, his reputation was tarnished by allegations his soldiers had massacred Hutu refugees who fled Rwanda, fearing reprisals for the 1994 slaughter of more than 500,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Once in power, Kabila resorted to the same dictatorial practices as Mobutu. He ruled by decree, repeatedly blocked U.N. war crimes investigators and brutally repressed the opposition, while carefully cultivating a personality cult.

Kabila's policies -- including price controls and stringent exchange regulations -- only increased the countryÕs economic woes, and the country sank into a state of bitter decay.

In August 1998, Kabila in turn faced a rebellion launched by Congolese Tutsis, disaffected Congolese soldiers and opposition politicians backed by KabilaÕs former patrons, Rwanda and Uganda.

The rebel army eventually divided into acrimony -- and sometimes outright combat. There are now three main rebel groups that control a large swath of eastern Congo.

A shaky peace accord was signed in July 1999 by Kabila and his allies -- Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia -- and by Rwanda and Uganda. The main rebel groups signed on in the weeks that followed. But fighting continues, with all sides accusing the other of violations.
/ENDS

Sources: Associated press, Reuters