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STORY OF A POWERFUL MAN WHO BRUSHED SHOULDERS WITH FRANCO
Franco's longest stint in prison was not because of a political song. It happened in 1978 when Franco released two songs on Cassette. The two songs Helene and Jacky were deemed shocking and immoral. He was summoned by the then Attorney General Kengo wa Dondo to explain himself. Franco defended himself vigorously suggesting that there was nothing immoral about the songs. They then summoned his mother Mbonga Makiesse to determine if the songs were immoral. Franco is said to have pleaded with them not to involve his mother. Mama Makiesse listened to the songs and reacted in shock. Franco was sentenced to 6 months. Ten of his musicians, most of whom had nothing to do with the songs were sentenced to two months. Those jailed included Papa Noel, Simaro, Kapitena, Gerry Dialungana, Makabi Flavien, Gege Mangaya, Mackos, Musekiwa Isaac and Lola Checain. Franco had tried to defend saying he should take all the responsibility but to no avail.
In addition, Franco nightclub Un-Deux-Trois was shut down for 2 months as was his recording label: Editions Populaires (EDIPOP). Other clubs that had played the songs were shut down for one month. The government ordered all recording companies to cease producing the records.Franco and his musicians were in fact released after 3 weeks, having been pardoned by Mobutu. Shortly thereafter, Kengo Wa Dondo was promoted to Justice Minister then swiftly demoted and appointed as Ambassador to Belgium. Franco, still holding a grudge against Kengo sang a song known as Tailleur in which he needled Kengo for his demotion singing.
Tailleur Mokolo Tonga song was about Kengo Wa Dondo who was a close associate of Mobutu, It is believed he was the one who sent Franco to jail for pornographic songs. Mokolo tonga abotoli tonga, Okotonga na nini eh?Which translates to: When the Tailor takes back his needle, what will you prick with?It was seen as Franco referencing the fact that the man who sent him to prison, no longer had the power to send anyone to prison. A year later, the irrational and erratic Mobutu appointed Kengo as Prime minister. He served from 1982 to 1986.
WHO IS KENGO WA DONDO?
Kengo is a powerful political figure in Zaire who was born in Libenge, Équateur province, Belgian Congo (later Zaire and now Democratic Republic of Congo). He was the son of a Polish Jewish father and a Rwandan Tutsi mother. He changed his name to Kengo Wa Dondo in 1971 during Mobutu's Africanization campaign.Prime Minister of Mobutu
Kengo served as Prime Minister for the first time from 1982 to 1986, appointing able technocrats to important positions, such as Munga Mibindo, President Delegate General of the National Electrical Utility (SNEL). He then served as foreign minister from 1986 to 1987 and as Prime Minister again from 1988 to 1990. During the early 1990s, Mobutu allowed a transitional parliament to be set up, and Kengo was chosen as Prime Minister by it in 1994 as a candidate in an attempt to neutralize the challenge from the country's then-most popular politician, Étienne Tshisekedi (Felix Tshisekedi's father). He expelled members of the Lebanese community from Zaire for alleged involvement in the illegal trade of conflict diamonds, though the credibility of such actions is perhaps challenged by the fact that trade in conflict diamonds from Angola had long been essential to the survival of the Mobutu regime, in which Kengo had been such an important figure.
Shortly after the beginning of the Congo civil war, in December 1996, Kengo became the leader of a crisis cabinet that sought to defeat the rebellion of Laurent Kabila. He was undermined by many Mobutu supporters because of his Tutsi origins, as Kabila's rebels were allied with the Tutsi governments of Rwanda and Burundi. As Kabila's armies advanced through the country, Kengo was also criticized for not conducting the war very well. He announced his resignation in March 1997 and left office in April 1997. The Mobutu government fell a month later, and Kengo retired from politics. In 2003, he was charged with money laundering in Belgium.
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