Meet Mobutu Sese Seko, the man who rose from a lowly army officer to become the autocratic ruler of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

Wearing his signature leopard-skin hat, Mobutu rebranded the country as Zaire and himself as a symbol of African pride.

 

Despite his charismatic persona and lavish lifestyle, his regime left the country impoverished, highlighting the dangers of unchecked power and corruption.

 

• Mobutu Sese Seko's rise to power in Congo
• Congo's harsh colonial history under Belgian rule
• Mobutu's involvement in Patrice Lumumba's downfall
• Mobutu's 1965 coup and 32-year rule
• Renaming Congo to Zaire and introducing the Authenticité movement
• Mobutu's repressive regime and personality cult
• Corruption and Mobutu's embezzlement of state funds
• Economic decline and dependency on foreign aid
• Mobutu's fall from power and death in exile
• Mobutu's enduring legacy in modern-day DRC

Full interactive transcript, subtitles and key vocabulary available on the website: https://www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/mobutu-sese-seko

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