Author: Congo Times

Congo school reopening 2025: date firmly set With a tone that mixed resolve and reassurance, Jean-Luc Mouthou, Minister of Pre-school, Primary, Secondary Education and Literacy, confirmed that classes will resume across Congo-Brazzaville on Wednesday 1 October 2025. Speaking on 29 September in Brazzaville during a meeting with the prefects of six départements, he dismissed suggestions of postponement. In his words, “The government is ready: Wednesday 1 October 2025, it is the reopening nationwide.” By stressing governmental preparedness while acknowledging lingering parental concerns, the minister sought to end speculation and give schools a clear operational horizon. Rural textbook distribution strengthens equity…

State Funeral in Brazzaville The subdued murmur of the crowd at the Palais des congrès on 29 September gave way to solemn silence when President Denis Sassou Nguesso stepped forward and placed a wreath at the foot of the chapel of rest. In a voice that carried across the vast auditorium, the Head of State conferred the rank of Commander of the National Order of Peace upon the late Serge Mombouli, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Congo to the United States. “M. Serge Mombouli, in the name of the Republic, we hereby make you Commander in…

Anatomy of the Kulunas Phenomenon Well before the clang of military boots echoed last weekend in Ouenzé and Talangaï, the name “Kulunas” had become shorthand for a mode of urban violence that feeds on economic fragility and peer-group bravado. The expression, imported from Kinshasa in the early 2010s, designates loosely organised youth gangs armed with machetes and metal bars who specialise in lightning robberies at bus stops and markets. According to the latest situational report from the Congolese National Police, more than one-third of the assault cases registered in Brazzaville during the second quarter of 2024 bore the signature methods…

Seasoned Congolese Diplomat Steps Forward When Firmin Édouard Matoko tendered his resignation on 14 March 2025, the corridors of UNESCO’s Paris headquarters fell briefly silent. After thirty-five years devoted to the organisation, the former Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa declared himself “a free man”, instantly turning the page from civil servant to candidate for Director-General. The election, scheduled for 6 November during the 43rd General Conference in Samarkand, will decide whether the 69-year-old economist transforms institutional knowledge into executive authority (Jeune Afrique, 29 Sept. 2025). His late entry startled observers who had watched Egypt’s Khaled el-Enany tour capitals for two…

A Double Bereavement for the African Red Cross The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies confirmed that two eminent statesmen of African humanitarianism passed away in 2025. Dr François-Xavier Buyoya, emeritus president of the Burundi Red Cross, succumbed on 9 September after three years of illness, while his Nigerien counterpart, President Ali Bandiare, died on 28 February at eighty-three. News of their departure has reverberated throughout the continent, stirring tributes that underscore both men’s stature as architects of a more assertive, continent-wide Red Cross engagement. From Manila to Brazzaville: Forging an Ambitious Agenda Their shared ascent began…

A ceremony of hope at the Savorgnan-de-Brazza Memorial The marble forecourt of the Pierre-Savorgnan-de-Brazza Memorial echoed with applause on 26 September as 165 trainees—102 women and 63 men—received their certificates after several months of rigorous instruction. Families, municipal officials and representatives of international donors attended the event, lending weight to what Dieudonné Badawé, country coordinator of the NGO Essor, called “a collective investment in the nation’s future” (Journal de Brazza, 26 September 2025). Training initiative bridges critical skills gap Drawn from diverse neighbourhoods of Brazzaville, the graduates mastered competencies in mechanical maintenance, computer support, electrical welding, hospitality, hairdressing, fashion design,…

An unexpected loss for the National Assembly The sudden death of Joseph Mbossa, member of parliament for the single-seat constituency of Abala in the Nkeni-Alima department, cast a muted pall over Congo-Brazzaville’s political class. Parliamentary sources confirmed that the 62-year-old legislator passed away on 28 September at a Paris hospital, where he had been undergoing routine medical examinations according to family acquaintances. No official medical bulletin was released, yet several colleagues stressed that the illness had not been deemed life-threatening, amplifying the sense of shock that followed the announcement. Within minutes of the news, the Assembly’s speaker, Isidore Mvouba, conveyed…

Presidential Promulgation Signals Firm Political Will With the stroke of a presidential pen, Law n° 30-2025 on the fight against the production, detention, manufacture, transport, trafficking and illicit use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors entered into force in the Republic of Congo. The enactment follows unanimous approval by both chambers of Parliament and illustrates the Executive’s determination to address the mounting social and security risks posed by uncontrolled drug circulation. Often referred to by lawmakers as the “Moundélé-Ngollo Ehourossia Law”, the 86-article text inaugurates a comprehensive framework that reaches far beyond the repeal of scattered decrees, opening a…

A measured acceleration toward July 2026 The Dynamique républicaine pour le développement, a component of Congo-Brazzaville’s presidential majority, has entered a decisive phase of its institutional life. Less than a month after the August 21 conclave that redrew its organisational chart, party president Hellot Matson Manpouya opened, on September 27, the inaugural sitting of the preparatory commission charged with delivering the second congress scheduled from 31 July to 2 August 2026. The venue—Makélékélé, first arrondissement of Brazzaville—symbolically links the party to the capital’s historic districts while reminding militants of the grassroots logic espoused since its creation in 2015. The timetable…

Belgian Window: Goals, Absences and Leadership Tests Saturday’s slate in the Jupiler Pro League offered contrasting emotions for Congo-Brazzaville followers. Alexis Beka Beka, whose versatility had been welcomed by the staff of RAAL La Louvière, was conspicuously missing when the side fought to a goalless draw at Dender. Technical sources inside the club described the omission as a “rotational choice” designed to manage muscular fatigue, a reminder of the delicate balance coaches seek in the first third of the season. One tier below, the Challenger Pro League produced a brighter image. Enjoying numerical superiority from the thirty-second minute, Patro Eisden…