Emmanuel Dungia
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel Dungia was a diplomat
and politician
of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), author of the political book: Mobutu and the money of Zaïre: the revelations of a diplomat, former Secret Services agent (Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre: les révélations d'un diplomate, ex-agent des Services secrets). The latter includes the report prepared for the International Monetary Fund
by Erwin Blumenthal, former Director of Foreign Affairs of the Bundesbank
. Dungia was also imprisoned and eventually acquitted by the Congolese government for his alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow Joseph Kabila who succeeded his father and President, Laurent Kabila assassinated January 16, 2001.
in the region of Ubangi in the province of the Équateur
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Emmanuel Dungia was born Emmanuel Dedetemo. De de te mo translates literally into Ngbaka by doing to yourself. Figuratively, one interpretation would be: Take care of yourself without letting anyone influence you.
The name DUNGIA comes from NDUNGIA from which the "N" letter was removed in 1957 when changes to make Congolese surnames uniform and legal by the colonial authority according to official procedures. Ndungia exists in the Ngbaka tribe, but is not commonly used and its significance is unknown. The Belgian colonial authority proceedings will be overturned by colonial Mobutu from 1967 when he introduces the concept of authentic Congolese nationalism or authentic Zairian revolution which sole purpose will be to erase the colonial history of his country.
During his childhood and youth, Dungia passes either by choice or by circumstances through a number of academic institutions: the Catholic school of Molegbe (École catholique de Molegbe) where he learned the Ngbandi
dialect, Kotakoli little seminar (le petit séminaire de Kotakoli), the Normal School of Molegbe (École normale de Molegbe), the Catholic school of Libenge
(École catholique de Libenge), Saint-Lawrence College of Gemena (Collège Saint-Laurent de Gemena) which was the first founded high school since the beginning of the Colonisation of the Congo
in the District of Ubangi, the former Royal Athenaeum of Coquilhatville (Athénée royal de Coquilhatville) which was reserved for Belgian children and évolués congolais before Congo’s independence, the Royal School of Cadets (École royale des cadets) in Brussels
, Royal Military Academy of Belgium (École royale militaire belge), the Athenaeum of Ngiri-Ngiri (Athénée de Ngiri-Ngiri
) of Kinshasa
and a school in the Neuf-Château city in the Belgian province of Luxembourg
.
where shortly after his return he is hired in the Finance administration department as an Inspector of Finance.
One day Dungia decides to make a courtesy visit to Zuwa Gozo, an elder and popular football player of the African community of Leuven
where he had come to prepare a PhD in Maritime Law. Zuwa Gozo, serves as Private Secretary to Mr. Seti Yale, at the time the powerful boss of Zairian security service. Zuwa Gozo’s boss Seti who knew Dungia for having met with him at the University of Lovanium (université Lovanium), noticing his presence, asked how he was doing and more especially about his studies when he entered his office to give instructions to Zuwa Gozo. The next day, Seti Yale had Dungia brought in to show him his university degree. Dungia comes in as requested and is hired on the spot by Seti. Dungia reported that later he will realize that Seti’s action might have been dictated by the need to collect some information on his rival Honoré Ngbanda with whom he had rubbed shoulders closely in Brussels, his competitor in leadership around Mobutu.
After training in the Zairian intelligence services for a month, Dungia is first assigned as assistant, then as the head of security at the Ndjili International Airport. In 1979, he is transferred to the central management research department (service d’études à la direction centrale).
(1980–81), Brussels (1981–86) and the Vatican
(1986–89). In 1989, he is recalled in Kinshasa where he works as a liaison security agent under the official title of diplomatic adviser to Foreign Minister Nguza Karl-I-Bond
. But Dungia says that he no longer has heart to perform intelligence work. From 1986, it he grows increasingly uncomfortable with plan Mobutu’s management system which he qualifies as “criminal”, hurting his conscience.
In April 1990, Mobutu’s political regime evolves into a Multi-party system
. After the formation of the first government of transition, Minister’s Office of Nguza gives way to that of Mushobekwa Kalimba Wa Katana. However, Dungia refuses to reinstate the security service as a result of the latter cabinet restructuring.
He is carefully preparing to go into exile in Belgium after having completed the manuscript of his book Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre which goes on sale the 28th January 1992. The dictator Mobutu promotes it himself by assigning L’Harmattan the Publisher and Dungia in justice in an attempt to ban the book from publication. The book is an international success, but its publisher would, according to Dungia, commit a major fraud at his expenses. He accuses the director of l’Harmattan, of systematically deceiving authors (especially Africans) on the number of works printed and sold. Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre which continues to be sold to this day was then available in major university libraries worldwide. Dungia's book is continually referenced by other works and authors. Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre had also been extensively used by participants of the Conference on National Sovereignty
(Conférence nationale souveraine).
In 1995, Dungia lives under police protection of the Belgian State
in trying conditions with his children. In September 1995 he accepts a job at a non-profit organization
that deals with people with psychological problems, prisoners and aliens seeking a positive resolution of their immigration status in Belgium.
The same year, he publishes The tropical octopus. The instruments of Mobutu (La pieuvre tropicale. Les tentacules de Mobutu), a book which distribution and impact will be modest compared to his first book.
. A rebellion supported by Rwanda
and Uganda
conquers cities and advances ahead towards Kinshasa. After the fall of Kisangani on 15 March 1997, the businessman Jeannot Bemba Saolona
and Ambassador Pelendo who assert to speak for the Ngbaka community, charge Dungia with the mission to deliver in Goma
a message from the Ngbaka people to the leader of the rebellion Laurent Kabila
. Dungia arrives in Goma preceded by the reputation caused by his first book. One of his supporters, Mwenze Kongolo and loyalist of Laurent Kabila, who asks him to bring his experience to the rebellion. Dungia agrees and returns to Brussels to report back and make arrangements for the care of his children.
. Under the people jubilation, they reach Kinshasa in the evening on Tuesday, May 20, 1997. End of July 1997, the president Laurent Kabila calls Dungia in with the Minister Bizima, in his cabinet at the Palace of the Nation (Palais de la Nation) in Kinshasa to notify him of his appointment as Goodwill Ambassador. August 7, Laurent Kabila sends Dungia on mission in South Africa
. On August 24, Dungia arrives on a working visit to meet with President Nelson Mandela
. The day of his return to Kinshasa on August 26, Dungia is appointed ambassador Chief of the diplomatic mission in Pretoria
, this after having long hesitated to appoint him as the head of intelligence after arresting its former head shortly before the trip to South Africa.
Dungia remains in Pretoria until January 20, 1998, when he is recalled to Kinshasa, according to Dungia, under the relentless pressure of Katanga
nationals who constantly demand that President Kabila specifically appoints of an ambassador's native of Katanga to attract South Africans investments.
In July 1998 Dungia is appointed ambassador to Bangui
, with jurisdiction over the Republic of Congo and Chad
. He arrives in Bangui with his family, preceded by a stunt, he reports, organised by a Chargé d'affaires of the Democratic Republic of Congo who would maliciously use Centralafrican channels to send messages to President Patassé
that Dungia is there to destabilise his power, as a member of the tribe of his rival and enemy André Kolingba
. Once Laurent Kabila government is in operation in Kinshasa, the Chargé d'affaires would constantly send letters about Dungia to the Foreign Affairs Department which nobody seems to pay any attention to. Citing a lack of accreditation document as Ambassador of the DRC, Dungia returns to Kinshasa after two days in Chad as the Central African authorities refuse to receive him.
In 1999, Laurent Kabila decides that Dungia should return to South Africa, but the South African authorities do not respond to DRC’ request for the accreditation of its Ambassador.
Deputy Foreign Minister David M'Bwankiem would receive false information that Dungia is being prepared to take his post during an imminent cabinet reshuffle. The President's private secretary, Nelly Ntwite is her protector for the presidency. In return, she sends parents seeking work that David M'Bwakiem hastily sent in diplomatic diplomats already crowded with many years of unpaid wages. Very influential with the President Laurent Kabila, Nelly Ntwite distills the information assembled from scratch that Dungia is an antenna of Ngbaka rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba
. Dungia is place under surveillance by Kabila until his assassination on January 16, 2001. External missions are no longer entrusted to Dungia. Moreover, the president goes as far as to refuse to grant him the authorization to make a private visit to Italy in December 2000.
. Eleven officers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Faz: Forces Armées Zaïroises) precede him on the list of detainees. February 23, they are transferred to the Makala prison. The interrogations they are submitted to, are useless as there is no evidence to support the charges. Against all odds, inmates are transferred to the Buluwo prison in Katanga on June 17, 2001. On September 13, 2001, Dungia is “acquitted” by the Military Court which accelerates its judgments due to international pressure. His accuser, officer Itele Ituko declares in the preparatory meetings that he has never seen Dungia in person. The latter returned to Kinshasa on September 16, 2001.
With the assistance of the Voice of the voiceless (Voix des sans-voix), one of the non-governmental organizations that had supported the cause of the prisoners unjustly accused until trial start, on September 25, 2001 Dungia attempts to organize a briefing on the irregularities which have marred the judicial proceedings in more than one way and how judgments were made outside the courtroom against his co-detainees. The event is prohibited under threat by the Military Court. Nevertheless, Dungia publishes the text of his statement in the paper La Tempête des Tropiques on September 28, 2001. The Congolese government
tries to abduct him one night in the Protestant Center where he has settled with his wife upon his release from prison. In April 2002, he fled with his wife to Brazzaville
.
, president of the former rebel movement, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie). Dungia begins working in Azarias Ruberwa’ Cabinet on January 27, 2004.
In 2005, Emmanuel Dungia is appointed Ambassador to the European Union
but he dies of cancer in hospital in Brussels before he can take office. Following his death, Dungia is replaced by Corneille Yambu-a-Ngoy in August 2006.
As a young adult, to help his parents, Emmanuel Dungia decides to work for a moment before continuing his studies. Provincial Minister of Health Maurice Nyoka hires him as employee at the Advance for Home Funds (Maisons des Fonds d’avance) service, while his Chief of Staff Yapele already has his own candidate. For this reason, Dungia reported, it caused him so much trouble that it eventually persuaded him to resume his studies. So he enrolled at the University of Lovanium
(université Lovanium), but another unpleasant surprise awaits him: the diploma of the scientific section A (Math-Physics) from the Athenaeum of Ngiri-Ngiri (Athénée de Ngiri-Ngiri) where he studied previously is not accredited by the Department of Education. He needs to go through a preparatory class called first. After this year, he is admitted in the Trade section of the Economics Faculty where he completes the year without any difficulty.
In 1967 following the situation created by the Belgian mercenary Schramme
in Kisangani
, a serious crisis
erupts between the Congo and Belgium who withdraws its cooperative development staff. Mobutu decrees the mobilization of Congolese university students to temporarily alleviate the situation. Meanwhile, Dungia is tutoring as professor of mathematics at the Lumumba Athenaeum (Athénée Lumumba) in the municipality of Limete in Kinshasa. Shortly after resuming studies in his second year at university, he obtained a scholarship from the European Common Market
for to study commercial engineering. He is back in Belgium in January 1969, meanwhile enrollments at universities deadlines have already closed. In the fall of 1969-70, Dungia is admitted at the University of Leuven
(université de Louvain). The academic year goes smoothly.
In 1977, he graduates from commercial and financial sciences at the Saint-Louise Higher Institute of Commerce (Institut supérieur de Commerce Saint-Louis) in Brussels.
In 1998 Dungia married for the second time but his wife will be struck death by sudden illness in November 2004 few months after their return from Brazzaville.
But Dungia who has an aversion, if not an extreme fright of hospitals and especially surgical rooms, and cannot stand the sight of blood, fails to follow his treatment as advised because he said that he does not “suffer”. He therefore continues to pursue his life almost as if nothing happened until 2005 when he is forced to recluse himself in Brussels to receive medical care that will no more provide him any help. He dies on February 1, 2006 a few days after the arrival of his daughters who came in a panic from the South Africa at his bedside on the alarming news they received from their family living in Brussels. On his hospital bed Dungia tells his close friend that he is ready to “return” to his Maker on January 31 at the latest because he says he is happy to have seen the next generation: his granddaughter. He announces that he is only waiting for the arrival of his daughters from South Africa to “leave.”
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), author of the political book: Mobutu and the money of Zaïre: the revelations of a diplomat, former Secret Services agent (Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre: les révélations d'un diplomate, ex-agent des Services secrets). The latter includes the report prepared for the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
by Erwin Blumenthal, former Director of Foreign Affairs of the Bundesbank
Deutsche Bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany and as such part of the European System of Central Banks . Due to its strength and former size, the Bundesbank is the most influential member of the ESCB. Both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank are...
. Dungia was also imprisoned and eventually acquitted by the Congolese government for his alleged involvement in a plot to overthrow Joseph Kabila who succeeded his father and President, Laurent Kabila assassinated January 16, 2001.
Early life
Emmanuel Dungia is the son of François Zoambe Kuku Dungia, a male nurse and Wivine Yumbe Mbisala, a housewife who had given birth to him in Bondaki, an area around GemenaGemena
Gemena is a town and capital of the Sud-Ubangi District of Equateur Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The town has a large airport.Mobutu Sese Seko's mother, Mama Yemo, died in Gemena in 1971; a vast mausoleum was built in her memory....
in the region of Ubangi in the province of the Équateur
Équateur
Équateur is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is in the north of the country, and bordered the Republic of the Congo to the west, the Central African Republic to the north, to the east the Orientale province, and to the south the Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Occidental, and...
in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Emmanuel Dungia was born Emmanuel Dedetemo. De de te mo translates literally into Ngbaka by doing to yourself. Figuratively, one interpretation would be: Take care of yourself without letting anyone influence you.
The name DUNGIA comes from NDUNGIA from which the "N" letter was removed in 1957 when changes to make Congolese surnames uniform and legal by the colonial authority according to official procedures. Ndungia exists in the Ngbaka tribe, but is not commonly used and its significance is unknown. The Belgian colonial authority proceedings will be overturned by colonial Mobutu from 1967 when he introduces the concept of authentic Congolese nationalism or authentic Zairian revolution which sole purpose will be to erase the colonial history of his country.
During his childhood and youth, Dungia passes either by choice or by circumstances through a number of academic institutions: the Catholic school of Molegbe (École catholique de Molegbe) where he learned the Ngbandi
Ngbandi
The Ngbandi are an ethnic group of the upper Ubangi River, who inhabit the southern part of the Central African Republic and the northern part of the Congo. Their language, Ubangi, is in the Niger–Congo language family. The Ngbandi, traditionally, were simple farmers who still grow maize, manioc...
dialect, Kotakoli little seminar (le petit séminaire de Kotakoli), the Normal School of Molegbe (École normale de Molegbe), the Catholic school of Libenge
Libenge
Libenge is a town in Sud-Ubangi Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....
(École catholique de Libenge), Saint-Lawrence College of Gemena (Collège Saint-Laurent de Gemena) which was the first founded high school since the beginning of the Colonisation of the Congo
Colonisation of the Congo
Colonization of the Congo refers to the period from Henry Morton Stanley's first exploration of the Congo until its annexation as a personal possession of King Leopold II of Belgium .-Early European exploration:...
in the District of Ubangi, the former Royal Athenaeum of Coquilhatville (Athénée royal de Coquilhatville) which was reserved for Belgian children and évolués congolais before Congo’s independence, the Royal School of Cadets (École royale des cadets) in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Royal Military Academy of Belgium (École royale militaire belge), the Athenaeum of Ngiri-Ngiri (Athénée de Ngiri-Ngiri
Ngiri-Ngiri
Ngiri-Ngiri is a municipality in the Funa district of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.It is situated in the south of Kinshasa. Ngiri-Ngiri is one of the new settlements, located at the foot of the Kalamu and Kasa-Vubu hills to the south of the province.-...
) of Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
and a school in the Neuf-Château city in the Belgian province of Luxembourg
Luxembourg (Belgium)
Luxembourg is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon, in the south-east of the province.It has an area of 4,443 km², making it the largest Belgian province...
.
Career under Mobutu Sese Seko
Intelligence services
In February 1978, Emmanuel Dungia leaves Belgium to return permanently to ZaïreZaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
where shortly after his return he is hired in the Finance administration department as an Inspector of Finance.
One day Dungia decides to make a courtesy visit to Zuwa Gozo, an elder and popular football player of the African community of Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
where he had come to prepare a PhD in Maritime Law. Zuwa Gozo, serves as Private Secretary to Mr. Seti Yale, at the time the powerful boss of Zairian security service. Zuwa Gozo’s boss Seti who knew Dungia for having met with him at the University of Lovanium (université Lovanium), noticing his presence, asked how he was doing and more especially about his studies when he entered his office to give instructions to Zuwa Gozo. The next day, Seti Yale had Dungia brought in to show him his university degree. Dungia comes in as requested and is hired on the spot by Seti. Dungia reported that later he will realize that Seti’s action might have been dictated by the need to collect some information on his rival Honoré Ngbanda with whom he had rubbed shoulders closely in Brussels, his competitor in leadership around Mobutu.
After training in the Zairian intelligence services for a month, Dungia is first assigned as assistant, then as the head of security at the Ndjili International Airport. In 1979, he is transferred to the central management research department (service d’études à la direction centrale).
Diplomatic assignments in Europe
After some external work, Dungia is sent in diplomatic missions in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(1980–81), Brussels (1981–86) and the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
(1986–89). In 1989, he is recalled in Kinshasa where he works as a liaison security agent under the official title of diplomatic adviser to Foreign Minister Nguza Karl-I-Bond
Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond
Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond was a prominent Zairian politician.Born in Musumba, Lualaba District, a member of the Lunda tribe and a nephew of the Katangan leader, Moise Tshombe, Nguza was a pock-marked child who rose rapidly through government posts and gained the favour of President Mobutu Sese...
. But Dungia says that he no longer has heart to perform intelligence work. From 1986, it he grows increasingly uncomfortable with plan Mobutu’s management system which he qualifies as “criminal”, hurting his conscience.
In April 1990, Mobutu’s political regime evolves into a Multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. After the formation of the first government of transition, Minister’s Office of Nguza gives way to that of Mushobekwa Kalimba Wa Katana. However, Dungia refuses to reinstate the security service as a result of the latter cabinet restructuring.
First exile and publications
He is carefully preparing to go into exile in Belgium after having completed the manuscript of his book Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre which goes on sale the 28th January 1992. The dictator Mobutu promotes it himself by assigning L’Harmattan the Publisher and Dungia in justice in an attempt to ban the book from publication. The book is an international success, but its publisher would, according to Dungia, commit a major fraud at his expenses. He accuses the director of l’Harmattan, of systematically deceiving authors (especially Africans) on the number of works printed and sold. Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre which continues to be sold to this day was then available in major university libraries worldwide. Dungia's book is continually referenced by other works and authors. Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre had also been extensively used by participants of the Conference on National Sovereignty
Public holidays in the Republic of the Congo
-Movable holidays:The following holidays are public holidays but the date on which each occurs varies, according to its corresponding calendar, and thus has no set date. In order in which they occur:-Notes:...
(Conférence nationale souveraine).
In 1995, Dungia lives under police protection of the Belgian State
Belgian federal government
The Cabinet of Belgium is the executive branch of the Belgian federal government, consisting of ministers and secretaries of state drawn from the political parties which form the governing coalition. Formally, the ministers are appointed by the King...
in trying conditions with his children. In September 1995 he accepts a job at a non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that deals with people with psychological problems, prisoners and aliens seeking a positive resolution of their immigration status in Belgium.
The same year, he publishes The tropical octopus. The instruments of Mobutu (La pieuvre tropicale. Les tentacules de Mobutu), a book which distribution and impact will be modest compared to his first book.
Career under Laurent-Desire Kabila
Dungia joins the rebellion against Mobutu’s regime
At the end of September 1996, Mobutu’s political regime is facing an insurrection in the province of KivuKivu
Kivu was the name for a large "Region" in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" : Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, corresponding to the three current provinces created in 1986...
. A rebellion supported by Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
conquers cities and advances ahead towards Kinshasa. After the fall of Kisangani on 15 March 1997, the businessman Jeannot Bemba Saolona
Jeannot Bemba Saolona
Jeannot Bemba Saolona was a Congolese businessman, Minister of the Economy and Industry, and Senator for Équateur...
and Ambassador Pelendo who assert to speak for the Ngbaka community, charge Dungia with the mission to deliver in Goma
Goma
Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...
a message from the Ngbaka people to the leader of the rebellion Laurent Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by his bodyguards on January 18, 2001...
. Dungia arrives in Goma preceded by the reputation caused by his first book. One of his supporters, Mwenze Kongolo and loyalist of Laurent Kabila, who asks him to bring his experience to the rebellion. Dungia agrees and returns to Brussels to report back and make arrangements for the care of his children.
Diplomatic assignments in Southern and Central Africa
Returning to Goma at the beginning of April 1997, Dungia is tentatively assigned as a diplomatic adviser to the Cabinet of Dr. Bizima Karaha who serves as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mobutu’s government is overthrown Saturday, May 17, 1997 while Dungia and Kabila’s rebel crew are still in LubumbashiLubumbashi
Lubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
. Under the people jubilation, they reach Kinshasa in the evening on Tuesday, May 20, 1997. End of July 1997, the president Laurent Kabila calls Dungia in with the Minister Bizima, in his cabinet at the Palace of the Nation (Palais de la Nation) in Kinshasa to notify him of his appointment as Goodwill Ambassador. August 7, Laurent Kabila sends Dungia on mission in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. On August 24, Dungia arrives on a working visit to meet with President Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. The day of his return to Kinshasa on August 26, Dungia is appointed ambassador Chief of the diplomatic mission in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, this after having long hesitated to appoint him as the head of intelligence after arresting its former head shortly before the trip to South Africa.
Dungia remains in Pretoria until January 20, 1998, when he is recalled to Kinshasa, according to Dungia, under the relentless pressure of Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
nationals who constantly demand that President Kabila specifically appoints of an ambassador's native of Katanga to attract South Africans investments.
In July 1998 Dungia is appointed ambassador to Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
, with jurisdiction over the Republic of Congo and Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
. He arrives in Bangui with his family, preceded by a stunt, he reports, organised by a Chargé d'affaires of the Democratic Republic of Congo who would maliciously use Centralafrican channels to send messages to President Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé
Ange-Félix Patassé was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé...
that Dungia is there to destabilise his power, as a member of the tribe of his rival and enemy André Kolingba
André Kolingba
André-Dieudonné Kolingba was the fourth president of the Central African Republic , from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993...
. Once Laurent Kabila government is in operation in Kinshasa, the Chargé d'affaires would constantly send letters about Dungia to the Foreign Affairs Department which nobody seems to pay any attention to. Citing a lack of accreditation document as Ambassador of the DRC, Dungia returns to Kinshasa after two days in Chad as the Central African authorities refuse to receive him.
In 1999, Laurent Kabila decides that Dungia should return to South Africa, but the South African authorities do not respond to DRC’ request for the accreditation of its Ambassador.
Advisor to the Presidential Cabinet
May 9, 2000 the president Laurent-Désiré Kabila has him called in by Georges Leta, the deputy assistant chief of the National Intelligence Agency who Dungia had proposed previously to Kabila whilst in Pretoria for his appointment to this very position. Laurent Kabila himself suggests to Dungia that he makes the offer to Georges Leta because he had trouble finding a competent person. That day, therefore, Dungia is notified of the decision of Laurent Kabila on his appointment as his Special Adviser, Head of the Mission. But soon, Dungia tells, another political plot is mounted against him.Deputy Foreign Minister David M'Bwankiem would receive false information that Dungia is being prepared to take his post during an imminent cabinet reshuffle. The President's private secretary, Nelly Ntwite is her protector for the presidency. In return, she sends parents seeking work that David M'Bwakiem hastily sent in diplomatic diplomats already crowded with many years of unpaid wages. Very influential with the President Laurent Kabila, Nelly Ntwite distills the information assembled from scratch that Dungia is an antenna of Ngbaka rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba
Jean-Pierre Bemba
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 17 July 2003 to December 2006. Bemba also leads the Movement for the Liberation of Congo , a rebel group...
. Dungia is place under surveillance by Kabila until his assassination on January 16, 2001. External missions are no longer entrusted to Dungia. Moreover, the president goes as far as to refuse to grant him the authorization to make a private visit to Italy in December 2000.
Arrest and 2nd exile
On February 19, 2001, Dungia is arrested by the security department of the Presidential Guard on the grounds of being involved in a plot to overthrow the young new president Joseph KabilaJoseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila...
. Eleven officers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Faz: Forces Armées Zaïroises) precede him on the list of detainees. February 23, they are transferred to the Makala prison. The interrogations they are submitted to, are useless as there is no evidence to support the charges. Against all odds, inmates are transferred to the Buluwo prison in Katanga on June 17, 2001. On September 13, 2001, Dungia is “acquitted” by the Military Court which accelerates its judgments due to international pressure. His accuser, officer Itele Ituko declares in the preparatory meetings that he has never seen Dungia in person. The latter returned to Kinshasa on September 16, 2001.
With the assistance of the Voice of the voiceless (Voix des sans-voix), one of the non-governmental organizations that had supported the cause of the prisoners unjustly accused until trial start, on September 25, 2001 Dungia attempts to organize a briefing on the irregularities which have marred the judicial proceedings in more than one way and how judgments were made outside the courtroom against his co-detainees. The event is prohibited under threat by the Military Court. Nevertheless, Dungia publishes the text of his statement in the paper La Tempête des Tropiques on September 28, 2001. The Congolese government
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second institution in the central executive branch of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first institution being the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has the title of head of state.- Description :Under the...
tries to abduct him one night in the Protestant Center where he has settled with his wife upon his release from prison. In April 2002, he fled with his wife to Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
.
Career under Joseph Kabila
On July 21, 2003, Dungia returns to Kinshasa, followed by his wife on July 31. He returned to DRC at the invitation of Vice-President Azarias RuberwaAzarias Ruberwa
Azarias Ruberwa Manywa was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2003-2006. He has been president of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie since 2003. He was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 2006. However, he...
, president of the former rebel movement, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie). Dungia begins working in Azarias Ruberwa’ Cabinet on January 27, 2004.
In 2005, Emmanuel Dungia is appointed Ambassador to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
but he dies of cancer in hospital in Brussels before he can take office. Following his death, Dungia is replaced by Corneille Yambu-a-Ngoy in August 2006.
Personal life
Education
In 1952, he starts primary school at the Catholic Mission of Bosobolo (Mission catholique de Bosobolo) where he reports having experienced a lot of trouble with the Italian Director, father Albert, who often gave him knocks on the head with a large bunch of keys.As a young adult, to help his parents, Emmanuel Dungia decides to work for a moment before continuing his studies. Provincial Minister of Health Maurice Nyoka hires him as employee at the Advance for Home Funds (Maisons des Fonds d’avance) service, while his Chief of Staff Yapele already has his own candidate. For this reason, Dungia reported, it caused him so much trouble that it eventually persuaded him to resume his studies. So he enrolled at the University of Lovanium
University of Lovanium
The University of Lovanium was a Catholic Jesuit university in Leopoldville/Leopoldstad in Belgian Congo.-History:The university was established in 1954 at Kimwenza.Its name was derived from the old name, Lovanium, for Leuven in Belgium...
(université Lovanium), but another unpleasant surprise awaits him: the diploma of the scientific section A (Math-Physics) from the Athenaeum of Ngiri-Ngiri (Athénée de Ngiri-Ngiri) where he studied previously is not accredited by the Department of Education. He needs to go through a preparatory class called first. After this year, he is admitted in the Trade section of the Economics Faculty where he completes the year without any difficulty.
In 1967 following the situation created by the Belgian mercenary Schramme
Jean Schramme
Jean Schramme was a Belgian mercenary and farmer, owner of an estate of about 15 square kilometres, and boss of about 1000 indigenous workers....
in Kisangani
Kisangani
Kisangani is the capital of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the 3rd largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo....
, a serious crisis
Kisangani Mutinies
The Kisangani Mutinies, also known as the Stanleyville Mutinies or Mercenaries' Mutinies, were a continuation of the Congo Crisis. The First Kisangani Mutiny was in 1966, the Second was in 1967.-First Mutiny:...
erupts between the Congo and Belgium who withdraws its cooperative development staff. Mobutu decrees the mobilization of Congolese university students to temporarily alleviate the situation. Meanwhile, Dungia is tutoring as professor of mathematics at the Lumumba Athenaeum (Athénée Lumumba) in the municipality of Limete in Kinshasa. Shortly after resuming studies in his second year at university, he obtained a scholarship from the European Common Market
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
for to study commercial engineering. He is back in Belgium in January 1969, meanwhile enrollments at universities deadlines have already closed. In the fall of 1969-70, Dungia is admitted at the University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
(université de Louvain). The academic year goes smoothly.
In 1977, he graduates from commercial and financial sciences at the Saint-Louise Higher Institute of Commerce (Institut supérieur de Commerce Saint-Louis) in Brussels.
Family Life
Emmanuel Dungia is the father of 4 children.In 1998 Dungia married for the second time but his wife will be struck death by sudden illness in November 2004 few months after their return from Brazzaville.
Health and Death
During his stay in South Africa between 1997 and 1998, Dungia is diagnosed with cancer which he carries in his body since 1995. The doctor who treats him then lets him know that it is still a benign cancer which if treated adequately, should not extend but completely disappear. Otherwise, the cancer would spread and that the average life of a cancer patient would not go beyond 5 years.But Dungia who has an aversion, if not an extreme fright of hospitals and especially surgical rooms, and cannot stand the sight of blood, fails to follow his treatment as advised because he said that he does not “suffer”. He therefore continues to pursue his life almost as if nothing happened until 2005 when he is forced to recluse himself in Brussels to receive medical care that will no more provide him any help. He dies on February 1, 2006 a few days after the arrival of his daughters who came in a panic from the South Africa at his bedside on the alarming news they received from their family living in Brussels. On his hospital bed Dungia tells his close friend that he is ready to “return” to his Maker on January 31 at the latest because he says he is happy to have seen the next generation: his granddaughter. He announces that he is only waiting for the arrival of his daughters from South Africa to “leave.”