Author: Congo Times

Historic Parade Signals National Resilience For the first time since 2019, the Boulevard Alfred-Raoul in Brazzaville vibrated once more to the cadence of marching boots, brass bands and ululations as the Republic of Congo commemorated sixty-five years of independence. The resumption of the full-scale parade, suspended during the COVID-19 emergency, constituted both an act of remembrance and a statement of national recovery. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, clad in the dark sash of Grand Maître des Ordres Nationaux, observed the three-hour ceremony from a tribune where senior officials and foreign dignitaries were seated. According to the national broadcaster Télé Congo, nearly…

Diaspora Creativity, Homeward Resonance When Congolese vocalist Cedro La Loi—civil-name Nolhy Cedrick Ndoudi Yimbou—moved his studio base to Paris in early 2024, he joined a growing constellation of Central-African creatives leveraging diasporic platforms to recast national narratives. France’s capital, with its estimated 100 000 Congolese residents (INSEE), offers both production infrastructure and a pan-African audience, yet the singer’s declared artistic compass continues to point resolutely toward Brazzaville. “My passport, my melodies and my memories all bear the same seal,” he told a private webcast in June. The forthcoming single, “Nzéla ya ebendé” (Lingala for “railway”), exemplifies that pledge, situating the…

A Sudden Crisis for a Revered Institution Even in a nation accustomed to spirited theological debate, the mid-August disclosure of private recordings allegedly featuring an archbishop using disparaging language toward a fellow bishop and his community landed like a thunderclap. According to regional media compilations reviewed by international wire services, the excerpts circulated first on encrypted social-media channels before crossing into the mainstream press (Agence France-Presse, 15 Aug 2025). The visceral nature of the epithets has confronted the Catholic Church of Congo-Brazzaville—an institution that often positions itself as guardian of national concord—with the uncomfortable reality that ethnic stereotypes can resurface…

A Convergence of Public Policy and Private Vision Inside a sun-bathed hall of the National School of Administration in Brazzaville, thirty women and two men rose one after another on 6 August 2025 to collect certificates that symbolise far more than academic diligence. Their graduation from the Genius incubation programme, curated by the National Chamber of Women Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs of Congo (CNFCEEC) under the stewardship of Flavie Lombo, marks a strategic alignment between public policy and private sector dynamism. In attendance were Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo and the United Nations Development Programme’s resident…

Diplomatic accreditation opens a new chapter When Mariavittoria Ballotta handed her letters of credence to Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso in late October, the brief ceremonial moment carried implications well beyond protocol. It signalled a recalibration of the long-standing partnership between Brazzaville and the United Nations Children’s Fund, a partnership that President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s administration has often characterised as “strategic for inclusive development” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023). The government’s reception, courteous yet task-oriented, underscored an expectation that the new Representative will translate UNICEF’s global mandate into concrete national gains, particularly as the Republic of Congo pursues the objectives of…

A National Festivity Under Presidential Patronage Dawn on 14 August 2025 found Brazzaville’s Boulevard Alfred Raoul transformed into a vibrant ribbon of spectators, flags and percussion ensembles. In keeping with a tradition established after the 2015 All-Africa Games, the half-marathon was selected as the sporting centrepiece of the Independence Day festivities. The honour of firing the starter’s pistol fell to President Denis Sassou Nguesso, whose brief remarks praised “youthful excellence and collective endurance”—a phrase swiftly echoed across state media (Agence d’Information d’Afrique Centrale). The meticulous organisation overseen by the Ministry of Sports and the municipal authority resulted in a route…

A historic commemoration under gathering clouds Speaking from Brazzaville on 14 August 2025, President Denis Sassou-Nguesso marked the Republic of Congo’s 65th year of sovereignty with a leitmotif that resonated beyond national borders: peace can no longer be taken for granted in a world characterised by proliferating armed conflicts. His televised remarks, broadcast simultaneously on radio, were delivered in the measured cadence that has come to define his oratory since his return to power in 1997. “We celebrate our independence while peace is dangerously threatened by the recurrence of armed conflicts,” he cautioned, pointing to theatres of violence stretching from…

A Sudden Narrowing of the Field When the Independent Electoral Commission of the Congolese Handball Federation, chaired by Tunisian jurist Mouadh Ben Zaied, released its provisional verdict on candidate eligibility, the sporting public was caught off guard. Of the two declared lists, only that headed by former national team player Linda Ambroisine Noumazalayi Ebendzé was deemed compliant. The ticket led by departmental league president Avicenne Cléoface Nzikou Bigoundou was invalidated for missing documentation concerning four running mates, a technicality almost invisible to the casual observer yet decisive under the federation’s statutes. In the absence of fresh nominations—the submission window having…

A Constitution Forged in the Lessons of 2015 The current Basic Law of the Republic of Congo was promulgated in 2015 after a national referendum that replaced the 2002 text and reset presidential term limits. At the time, the government defended the revision as a means to adapt institutions to new socio-economic realities while guaranteeing alternation through a two-round electoral system. International observers from the African Union and ECCAS noted general calm at the polls, although certain Western chancelleries voiced reservations about turnout figures. Six years on, the constitutional architecture has proven resilient in steering legislative and local elections despite…

A Trans-River Legacy of Concord Few waterways possess as much symbolic weight in Central Africa as the Congo River, whose majestic sweep keeps Kinshasa and Brazzaville—only a handful of kilometres apart—within constant visual embrace. From both banks, the independence of the Republic of Congo, solemnly celebrated on 15 August, remains an annual litmus test for regional amity. Into this ritual steps Me Kalala Muena Mpala, an eminent Katangese lawyer and veteran champion of Pan-African ideals, whose public interventions have consistently highlighted the need for durable harmony between the two capitals (Jeune Afrique, 2024). Kalala’s commitment to cross-river fraternity dovetails with…