Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Banga Mobutu Biography and Timeline

Birth of Sese Seko Mobutu

Birth of Sese Seko Mobutu

Coup

Overthrows the Government of Lumumba with the support of the USA & Belgium

Coup

Deposes President Kasavubu & announces himself President for 5yrs

Role range: 1965-1997

Coup

Mobutu puts down an attempted coup

Role range: 1965-1997

Election

Mobutu is elected President

Role range: 1965-1997

Constitution of Zaire

Renames the country the Republic of Zaire. Priests are warned they will face 5 yrs imprisonment if they baptze a Zaire child. Africans are ordered to drop their Christian names for African ones

Role range: 1965-1997

Name

Mobutu renames himself Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga

Role range: 1965-1997

Health of Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Banga Mobutu

The terminally ill Mobutu leaves Zaire for treatment

Role range: 1965-1997

Invasion of Zaire

Suppresses a rebel invasion from Angola

Role range: 1965-1997

Goma Refugee Emergency

Former Rwandan soldiers and militia also enter eastern Zaire.

Role range: 1965-1997

Rwandan Refugee Camps Established

Allows vast refugee camps to form after the Rwandan genocide.

Role range: 1965-1997

Goma Cholera Crisis

Faces a massive humanitarian emergency in camps around Goma.

Role range: 1994-1994 – 1965-1997

Goma Refugee Crisis

Refugee camps rapidly develop around Goma and Bukavu.

Role range: 1994-1994 – 1965-1997

Rwandan Refugee Emergency

Cholera kills tens of thousands of Rwandan refugees.

Role range: 1994-1994 – 1965-1997

Rwandan Refugees Enter Zaire

Allows huge numbers of Rwandan refugees to enter eastern Zaire.

Role range: 1994-1994 – 1965-1997

Eastern Zaire Security Crisis

Regional security deteriorates along the Rwanda-Zaire border.

Role range: 1965-1997

Rwandan Refugee Repatriation Pressure

Faces mounting pressure over militarized Rwandan refugee camps.

Role range: 1965-1997

Banyamulenge Crisis

Faces rebellion in eastern Zaire involving Banyamulenge forces.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Eastern Zaire Rebellion Begins

Rwanda and Uganda increasingly support anti-Mobutu forces.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Rebellion of they erupt in

When Mobutu issues an order forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death, they erupt in rebellion

Role range: 1965-1997

Eastern Camps Collapse

Hundreds of thousands of refugees return toward Rwanda.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Rwandan Refugee Camps Attacked

Rwandan-backed forces attack refugee camps in eastern Zaire.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Mobutu Flees Zaire

Leaves the country as rebel forces approach Kinshasa.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Mobutu Rule

His three-decade rule of Zaire collapses.

Role range: 1996-1997 – 1965-1997

Death of Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Banga Mobutu

Death of Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu Banga Mobutu, in exile in Rabat, Morocco, from prostate cancer which had been developing since 1962

Role range: 1965-1997