Hours after the failed coup attempt was announced early Sunday morning, the leader’s identity has not yet been released by Congolese authorities. However, his face and name are already circulating on social networks and Congolese news sites.
This is Christian Malanga, a Congolese diaspora. His Facebook account broadcast a video of the attack on the Palais de la Nation in Kinshasa. We see him in military fatigues, armed with an automatic weapon, wearing a red beret, repeatedly speaking to dozens of men in French, English, and especially Lingala, and displaying the flag of Zaire, the old name of the DRC. In the center of a yellow circle on a green background and inside a hand holding a red torch.
Christian Malanga, 41, is a Congolese immigrant, businessman and politician. He is the founder of the United Congolese Party (UCP), a small party that aims to network Congolese diaspora around the world. He is the leader of the “New Zaire” movement.
He is one Born January 2, 1983 in Kinshasa. During his childhood, his family first fled the country to seek refuge in South Africa and then in the United States in 1998, where he grew up. He attended high school there and started several small businesses. Also, he is involved in non-profit organizations.
In 2006, he returned to the DRC and did his military service. He is an officer in the Congolese Army and holds various posts. Later, he built a business and entered politics as an independent candidate in the 2011 assembly elections, but was arrested and detained for weeks.
After this experience, he returned to the United States to form his UCP party focused on immigrants. Christian Malanga strengthened his organization with a view to contesting elections in the DRC.
In the video of the attack on the Palais de la Nation on Sunday May 19, 2024, he appears at the head of the diaspora soldiers accompanied by their children. He says he is tired and wants to end the suffering in the country. He criticizes Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Vitale Kamerhe for their administration.
According to a Congolese military spokesman, the leader of the attackers was neutralized.
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