Nicknamed the "Sphinx of Limete," Étienne Tshisekedi navigated through several regimes, opposing Mobutu and the Kabilas. He also served as Prime Minister under Mobutu's regime, before becoming his main opponent.


"Today, we remember with respect and gratitude the Sphinx Étienne Tshisekedi Wa Mulumba, a leader whose life was dedicated to defending the interests of the Congolese people.


His mantra "The people first" continues to echo as a reminder of his commitment to social justice, equality, and dignity for all.


His legacy continues to inspire us to work for a future where the needs of the people come first, where every voice is heard, and every person is valued," wrote the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Didier Budimbu, on his X account. He is close to the ruling party, UDPS.


Étienne Tshisekedi was born in Kananga (formerly called Luluabourg) in December 1932. When Mobutu staged his first coup d'état in September 1960, Étienne Tshisekedi was a member of the college of General Commissioners, serving as the deputy to the Justice Commissioner, Marcel Lihau.


In 1967, at the N'sele conclave, Étienne Tshisekedi, together with Mobutu, Justin Marie Bomboko, and Singa Udjuu, drafted the "Manifesto of N'sele," thereby creating the Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR), which would later become the single party and party-state of Congo, recalls Benjamin Babunga in his chronicles on social networks.


But in the early 1980s, Mobutu's regime seemed weakened, accused of terrible financial mismanagement. This led, in December 1980, to Étienne Tshisekedi and other parliamentarians drafting an open letter to Mobutu. It was the final split and the beginning of a long nonviolent struggle against Marshal Mobutu


In 1982, Étienne Tshisekedi participated in the founding of the UDPS, the first opposition party in Zaire. Following that, he was imprisoned several times and subjected to persecutions, as were the other founders of the party, some of whom even lost their lives.


This struggle would continue even after the AFDL took power in May 1997. He expended the same energy to oppose the Kabilas. In 2011, he lost the presidential election and self-proclaimed President of the Republic, taking the oath on a Bible from his residence in Limete, Kinshasa.


He was a central figure in the signing of the agreement known as the Saint Sylvester Accord in December 2016 after the country failed to organize elections that year. He would die a month later, on February 1, 2017, in Belgium from a pulmonary embolism.


Dido Nsapu(DN/PKF)