Author: Congo Times

A measured warning from the inter-union college The inter-union college of Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville deposited on 3 October a meticulously phrased, four-day strike notice that it presents as a “last resort” before more disruptive actions. Behind the communiqué stand the Syndicat du personnel non-enseignant du supérieur (SYPENES), the Syndicat national de l’université (SYNALU) and the Syndicat des enseignants du supérieur (SYNESUP), three representative bodies whose convergent positions confer unusual cohesion on a traditionally fragmented social landscape. Their stated objective is not confrontation but a “return to the spirit of the commitments” that, according to them, framed earlier talks…

A brutal dawn in Château d’Eau The stillness of the early morning in Brazzaville’s Château d’Eau quarter was broken on 2 October by urgent cries for help. According to neighbours, a twenty-year-old woman was attacked inside her family home by the father of her five-month-old daughter. Armed with a machete, the man allegedly struck the young mother several times before fleeing. Bleeding heavily from deep lacerations to the forearm and shoulder, the victim was rushed to a nearby private clinic where a physician performed emergency sutures and stabilised her condition. Recurring violence and a fractured household Family members told reporters…

Brazzaville ushers in the season with rumba splendour The capital of the Republic of the Congo is preparing for an evening that promises to be as polished as it is festive. On 8 October the five-star Radisson Blu will host JB Mpiana, the artist whose trajectory from Kinshasa prodigy to continental star has long fascinated music lovers. Choosing this emblem of elegance for the inaugural concert of Brazzaville’s 2025-2026 cultural season sets an unmistakable tone: refinement, exacting artistry and civic pride are to be centre stage (Journal de Brazza, 2025). Event organisers underline that the venue’s acoustics and intimate configuration…

A renewed call for scholastic diligence in Pointe-Noire In the shaded courtyard of the departmental headquarters, the director for Primary, Secondary Education and Literacy, Frédéric César Bayonne, distilled his message into one unapologetically simple maxim: “Success lies at the end of persevering effort.” His interview, granted on the eve of the 2025-2026 rentrée, reached well beyond ceremonial encouragement. It was a summons to pupils to recognise themselves as “masters of their destiny” and to teachers to apply themselves with equal rigour. By explicitly linking destiny, discipline and diligence, Bayonne knitted a narrative of responsibility that enlists every classroom actor, from…

Historic Night in Santiago Only a handful of youth fixtures manage to bend the global football narrative, yet the evening of 1 October in Santiago did precisely that. Morocco’s U20 selection, colloquially celebrated as the Atlas Cubs, resisted the famed Brazilian possession game and produced a 2–1 victory that guarantees a place in the FIFA U20 World Cup round of sixteen with one match to spare. The result, their second straight win in Group D, represents the most prestigious scalp ever claimed by a Moroccan youth side on the world stage (FIFA match centre, 1 October). Tactical Discipline and Clinical…

Executive Committee aligns the roadmap Under the vaulted ceilings of the federation’s headquarters on 2 October, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT) convened an extended session of its Executive Committee as a prelude to the ordinary General Assembly scheduled for 4 October in Brazzaville. President Jean Guy Blaise Mayolas opened the proceedings by insisting on “rigorous organisation” and “responsible deliberation”, framing the preparatory meeting as a pivotal step toward a congress that must, in his words, be “dignified, constructive and a bearer of hope for the sustainable development of our football” (FECOFOOT communiqué, 2 Oct.). Participants reviewed the state of completion…

Casablanca Tatami Elevates Congolese Ambitions Under the floodlights of the Mohammed V sports complex in Casablanca, the seventh World Nanbudo Championships unfolded on 27–28 September before an audience that blended Moroccan aficionados with delegates from four continents. Among the 140 athletes in contention, the Republic of Congo’s compact but resolute delegation—escorted by national coach Brunel Bouap Poundjoll—entered the tatami with the task of defending the green-yellow-red colours in the under-65 kg and under-70 kg divisions. Their journey had begun with late-hour visa formalities and fundraising hurdles, yet the athletes reached the host city in competitive shape thanks to coordinated effort…

Regulatory Shift Announced in Brazzaville In a communiqué issued from Brazzaville on 1 October, the Ministry of Transport, Civil Aviation and Merchant Marine, led by Minister Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babbackas, unveiled a decisive adjustment to the national road-transport framework. The validity of professional licences—known locally as agréments—granted to road hauliers and to their related service industries will henceforth be limited to a uniform five-year term. The ministry presented the measure as a calibrated response to the sector’s need for predictability, improved safety standards and clearer administrative tracking across the Republic of the Congo’s vast road network. A Decree Rooted in…

Cape Town spotlight on a renewed energy vision The opening of the fifth African Energy Week in Cape Town offered the Republic of Congo a rare continental megaphone. Standing in for President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso asserted that the theme – “Invest in African Energy: positioning Africa as the global energy champion” – mirrors both the magnitude of the continent’s energy needs and the breadth of its prospects. His intervention sketched an agenda that is as diplomatic as it is entrepreneurial: Brazzaville no longer wants to be catalogued as a mere supplier of crude, but rather…

Strategic Vision Takes Shape in Brazzaville An atmosphere of quiet resolve pervaded the headquarters of the Congolese National Human Rights Commission as its eleven commissioners convened from 22 to 25 September 2025. Under the chairmanship of Casimir Ndomba, the ordinary session produced what participants readily described as a turning point: the unanimous adoption of a triennial strategic plan covering the period 2025-2028. The document translates the commissioners’ collective ambition into measurable objectives centred on justice, social cohesion and the protection of individual liberties, key priorities explicitly encouraged by the President of the Republic (final communiqué). The gathering was the first…