Author: Emmanuel Mbala

Interior Ministry warns on unclaimed Congo passports The Ministry of the Interior and Decentralisation has issued an alert concerning passports that have been produced yet remain uncollected. According to information attributed to the supervising ministry and relayed by local media, the phenomenon concerns nearly 4,000 documents that are still awaiting their owners in the administrative services where they should ordinarily be retrieved. The ministry’s accounting, as reported, places the precise figure at 3,719 Congolese citizens who have not collected passports already established in their names. In the ministry’s framing, these are not pending applications but completed travel documents, described as…

Brazzaville Consultation on AI Regulation A national consultation on the regulation of artificial intelligence has opened in Brazzaville under the auspices of the Agency for the Regulation of Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE). The meeting, which began on Monday and is scheduled to run until Friday 16 January 2026, brings together public institutions, private‑sector actors and international digital experts, in a format designed to align technical realities with public‑interest safeguards (Journal de Brazza). The stated purpose is to establish the foundations of a regulatory approach calibrated to contemporary technological challenges. Participants are examining a set of closely connected themes: protection…

Congo-Brazzaville presidential election: a high-stakes moment As the presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville draws nearer, the political climate is becoming more charged. Speeches are multiplying, positions are hardening, and passions are increasingly expressed—both in public arenas and across social networks. At roughly two months from the vote, the central imperative for all stakeholders is to keep a cool head and preserve a sense of measure. The March presidential election is a major milestone in the country’s democratic life. It is, in principle, a time when Congolese citizens are called upon to choose—freely and peacefully—those who will be tasked with steering national…

Pool Department Security Incident Near Mindouli Sunday calm along National Road 1 in Congo-Brazzaville’s Pool department was abruptly disrupted on 11 January, after reports of an armed confrontation on the outskirts of the Mindouli district. Several concordant accounts cited by Journal de Brazza describe an exchange of gunfire involving a detachment of the Direction générale de la sécurité présidentielle (DGSP) and a group presented as former “Ninja” militiamen operating in the area (Journal de Brazza). As of the end of the day referenced by the source, no official communiqués had provided a definitive account of the incident, and no confirmed…

Mossendjo security climate and daily serenity In Mossendjo, in the Niari department in the south of the Republic of the Congo, public calm is presented as more than a fortunate backdrop to urban life; it is described as the product of a discreet yet continuous security presence. The city is said to settle into the night and greet the morning in an environment marked by safety and serenity, an atmosphere that residents experience in the ordinary rhythms of their daily movements. This steady policing, portrayed as vigilant rather than ostentatious, is framed as a primary bulwark against insecurity. Its practical…

Kinkala cathedral hosts Kolelas remembrance Mass On Saturday 10 January, a thanksgiving Mass was celebrated at Sainte Monique Cathedral in Kinkala in memory of Bernard Bakana Kolelas, president-founder of the MCDDI, who died on 12 November 2009. The service, initiated by those who identify as “Kolelas supporters” and who affirm the values associated with the late statesman, gathered a broad audience around Euloge Landry Kolelas, current president of the MCDDI. Beyond party labels, political personalities, grassroots militants and citizens attended to pay tribute to a figure portrayed by participants as an exemplar of humanism and public service. The tone of…

US visa restrictions effective 1 January 2026 The United States administration has introduced new visa restrictions, scheduled to take effect on 1 January 2026, affecting in particular several African states. In practice, access to US territory is presented as an instrument of migration management and national security; in diplomatic terms, it also functions as leverage, capable of reshaping bilateral relations well beyond consular policy. According to the information available in the source text, the framework has evolved in successive phases. From June 2025 onward, the administration of President Donald Trump imposed a ban on the issuance of visas for a…

Congo-Brazzaville 2026 election: diplomacy moves to center stage As the Republic of the Congo approaches the presidential election scheduled for March 2026, political debate is increasingly framed not only by domestic dynamics but also by the country’s external posture: its economic partnerships, its standing with multilateral institutions, and its credibility with strategic counterparts. In the narrative emerging from the presidential majority, international engagement is not treated as an accessory to governance but as an instrument of stability, investment confidence and policy continuity. The official nomination of President Denis Sassou Nguesso as candidate of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) during the…

Brazzaville address on unity ahead of the presidential election Brazzaville, 8 January (ACI) — President Denis Sassou-N’Guesso on 7 January in Brazzaville appealed to what Congolese public life commonly designates as the “living forces of the Nation” to preserve unity, peace and national cohesion as the country moves toward the presidential election scheduled for March. The Head of State delivered this appeal while responding to the traditional New Year greetings addressed to him by the national institutions and the country’s broad civic constituencies. He framed the forthcoming vote as a major democratic appointment, explicitly calling for it to unfold “in…

Brazzaville: LCDE issues formal denial of viral posts La Congolaise Des Eaux (LCDE), the national water distribution company, has publicly refuted claims of an alleged “mass recruitment” campaign after a wave of messages circulated widely on social media over recent days. In a statement dated Wednesday 7 January and released in Brazzaville, LCDE’s General Management described the purported recruitment announcements as entirely false and insisted they did not originate from any of the company’s services. The clarification came as many users continued to relay a link presented as a “candidate portal” allegedly offering job opportunities within the company. LCDE’s response,…