Author: Congo Times

A ceremonial dawn for Congo’s youngest department The ochre esplanade of Odziba, one hundred kilometres north of Brazzaville, brimmed with the colours of national banners and the cadence of traditional orchestras as Interior and Decentralisation Minister Raymond Zéphirin Mboulou formally invested Léonidas Mottom Mamoni as inaugural prefect of Djoué-Léfini. The appointment, enacted by Presidential Decree n°2025-87 of 31 March 2025 and welcomed by lawmakers such as First Deputy Speaker Léon-Alfred Opimbat, gives institutional flesh to the most recent phase of Congo’s ambitious territorial reconfiguration. From floodplain to food basket: water as strategic nerve In his maiden address, the new prefect…

A continental beacon for global Patient Safety Day The façade of the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa, nestled in Brazzaville’s Djoué district, was bathed in orange on the evening of 17 September 2025. The hue, adopted worldwide as the chromatic emblem of patient safety, stood out against the Congolese dusk like a navigational light—an image deliberately chosen by organisers to evoke both vigilance and solidarity. By embracing this gesture, Congo signalled its adhesion to an international movement that insists every newborn and every child deserves risk-free medical care from the very first breath. High-level voices insist on zero…

A milestone celebration in the heart of Brazzaville The gardens of the Chinese embassy overlooking the Congo River were awash with lanterns and trilingual banners on 29 September, when Ambassador An Qing welcomed cabinet members, diplomats and business leaders to mark the 76th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. The Foreign Minister, Jean-Claude Gakosso, led the Congolese delegation, signalling the high political value Brazzaville attaches to its partnership with Beijing. In her opening remarks, the ambassador traced China’s domestic transformation, stressing that the country has generated more than 30 percent of global growth for several years and lifted 770…

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…