Jean-Pierre Bemba

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Bemba ahead of the 2006 presidential election

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (* 4. November 1962 in Bokada , Province Equateur , Democratic Republic of Congo ) is a Congolese politician and entrepreneur. He was a candidate in the 2006 presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

Life

Bemba belongs to the family of the millionaire Jeannot Bemba Saolana . His family is related by marriage to the family of the former dictator through the sister Jean-Pierre Bembas, who married a son of Mobutu Sese Seko .

Bemba studied economics in Brussels . After his return he worked in Zaire from 1986 as a consultant for Mobutu and successfully as a businessman in the telecommunications industry and in the management of the airline Scibe Airlift . After the fall of Mobutu, he went into exile in 1997. In 1998, Bemba founded a liberation movement directed against the new ruler Laurent-Désiré Kabila , the " Mouvement de Liberation du Congo " (MLC) and its military department "ALC". The MLC eventually controlled almost a third of the DR Congo. Bemba is charged with being responsible for war crimes committed by the ALC in the Congo and the Central African Republic during this period .

Bemba took part in the inner-Congolese negotiations to end the armed conflict. On July 17, 2003, following the conclusion of the Accord global et inclusif peace agreement, Sun City (South Africa) appointed him Vice-President of the DR Congo.

In the first free democratic election of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1965 on July 30, 2006 , he reached 20 percent and was behind Joseph Kabila (successor and son of the murdered Laurent-Désiré Kabila), who received 44.81 percent of the votes could not achieve an absolute majority.

After the election results were announced on August 21, 2006, his private residence was attacked by the Presidential Guard with heavy weapons (tanks). At the time of the attack, 14 of the most important ambassadors accredited in Kinshasa, including the German ambassador Reinhard Buchholz , were in this residence. After an intervention by MONUC and EUFOR RD Congo , the attack was canceled. Bemba and the ambassadors were unharmed.

In the runoff election on October 29, 2006, Bemba lost 41.95 percent to the new (and old) President Joseph Kabila (58.05 percent). Bemba recognized the election result.

Fight in March 2007

On March 15, 2007, Bemba was asked to integrate his private army , which was guarding his home on Promenade de la Raquette in Gombe, Kinshasa , into the country's armed forces. Failing to do so, his residence and offices on Boulevard du 30 Juin were attacked by Congolese soldiers on March 22, 2007. The fighting lasted until the next day, when Bemba found refuge in the South African embassy . There are said to have been a total of 200 deaths in the fighting. On April 11, 2007, Bemba traveled unhindered to Portugal , officially to receive treatment for an injury to his leg.

International Criminal Court

In June 2007, Bemba caused a stir with the decision not to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for security reasons after a stay abroad in Portugal. While the stay abroad was initially viewed as a measure of relaxation, there were fears that the absence of Bembas in the country could weaken the opposition and thus create an imbalance.

On May 25, 2008, Bemba, who was wanted on an international arrest warrant, was arrested in Brussels. He has been charged with crimes against humanity. On July 3, 2008, he was transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague . The trial against him began on November 22, 2010. His troops are said to have committed countless rapes and murders between 2002 and 2003, especially in the Central African Republic. The soldiers were called by the then President of the Central African Republic, Ange-Félix Patassé , to take action against an attempted coup. Bemba pleaded not guilty in court but was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the first instance on June 21, 2016. The sentence was 18 years in prison. In June 2018, the Bemba appeals court acquitted on all counts.

Web links

Commons : Jean-Pierre Bemba  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John James, DR Congo's Bemba to stay abroad , BBC News, June 10, 2007 (English)
  2. ^ Criminal court arrested the Congolese rebel leader Bemba in: Deutsche Welle from May 25, 2008
  3. ^ Trial of ex-Vice President of the Congo for war crimes Reuters Germany, November 22, 2010
  4. ↑ Congo's ex-vice president pleads not guilty in: Spiegel Online from November 22, 2010
  5. ^ Congo's ex-vice president Bemba convicted of war crimes in: Spiegel Online from March 21, 2016
  6. ↑ tagesschau.de: War crimes: 18 years imprisonment for Congo's ex-Vice Bemba. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved June 21, 2016 .
  7. ↑ ICC Appeals Chamber acquits Mr Bemba from charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity , press release of the International Criminal Court on June 8, 2018. Retrieved on June 11, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Bemba, Jean-Pierre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bemba Gombo, Jean-Pierre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Congolese politician and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 4th November 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Bokada , Province Equateur , Democratic Republic of Congo