Eric Lenge
Encyclopedia
Eric Lenge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
led a failed coup during June 2004 against the Government of Joseph Kabila
. He had reached the rank of Major in the Special Presidential Security Group, the branch of the Congolese military in charge of Presidential security.
The coup began with a power blackout before taking over Congolese state radio and announcing that he intended to neutralise the transitional support.
The security forces fought forces loyal to Kabila at the Presidential palace with the loyalists soon gaining the upper hand. Lenge fled the capital with 21 others towards the province of Bas-Congo
. As of the middle of 2004, he had not been captured.
Senior members of President Kabila's Government were later dismissed as a result of suspicion in the coup including Presidential adviser Kifua Adamasi, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Admiral Liwanga Mata. Former National Security Minister Mwenze Kongolo, a loyalist of former President Laurent Kabila met with Lenge five hours before the start of the coup with Katangese
partisans suspected by diplomats of involvement. A failure to pay arrears to the troops was another factor. Some Opposition newspapers believe that the incident was a ploy to consolidate Joseph Kabila in power.
In the first half of 2006, a series of letters purported to be from Major Eric Lenge have been sent to Congolese media groups, all ridiculing President Joseph Kabila's regime, contesting his citizenship, his filliation to Laurent Kabila, and his being unwed.http://www.kabiladoitpartir.com/article.php?article=84
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
led a failed coup during June 2004 against the Government of Joseph Kabila
Joseph 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...
. He had reached the rank of Major in the Special Presidential Security Group, the branch of the Congolese military in charge of Presidential security.
The coup began with a power blackout before taking over Congolese state radio and announcing that he intended to neutralise the transitional support.
The security forces fought forces loyal to Kabila at the Presidential palace with the loyalists soon gaining the upper hand. Lenge fled the capital with 21 others towards the province of Bas-Congo
Bas-Congo
Bas-Congo is one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the only province with a coastline and it borders Bandundu province to the east and Kinshasa to the northeast...
. As of the middle of 2004, he had not been captured.
Senior members of President Kabila's Government were later dismissed as a result of suspicion in the coup including Presidential adviser Kifua Adamasi, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff Admiral Liwanga Mata. Former National Security Minister Mwenze Kongolo, a loyalist of former President Laurent Kabila met with Lenge five hours before the start of the coup with Katangese
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...
partisans suspected by diplomats of involvement. A failure to pay arrears to the troops was another factor. Some Opposition newspapers believe that the incident was a ploy to consolidate Joseph Kabila in power.
In the first half of 2006, a series of letters purported to be from Major Eric Lenge have been sent to Congolese media groups, all ridiculing President Joseph Kabila's regime, contesting his citizenship, his filliation to Laurent Kabila, and his being unwed.http://www.kabiladoitpartir.com/article.php?article=84