Author: Emmanuel Mbala

A decisive appeal from the ruling party In a packed conference hall on the banks of the Congo River, the Congolese Labour Party used the opening session of its sixth ordinary congress on 27 December 2025 to deliver a direct and unambiguous message. Flanked by the party’s highest bodies and delegates from allied formations, Secretary-General Pierre Moussa proclaimed that only one candidacy could, in the eyes of the party, guarantee continuity and calm ahead of the presidential ballot scheduled for March 2026. “The candidacy of our champion of all times, Comrade President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, is the only one capable of…

Brazzaville at the centre of party politics The gardens of Ben’tsi, a lush enclave in Brazzaville’s Mpila district, are poised to host the sixth ordinary congress of the Congolese Labour Party (Parti congolais du travail, PCT) from 27 to 30 December 2025. Party spokesperson and congress rapporteur Parfait Romuald Iloki told reporters at a pre-event briefing on 24 December that more than three thousand accredited participants – including delegates, statutory members and invited personalities – had already begun arriving in the capital. In his words, “We are ready.” (party press briefing, 24 December). Held under the motto “Cadres, militants and…

A Tragic Discovery at Itatolo Cemetery Brazzaville woke to a sense of disbelief on 23 December 2025 when firefighters removed the mutilated body of Raviet Celvic Ntsiantsié—better known by his affectionate Chinese-style nickname, Xi Tsiang—from La Grâce, a private burial ground in the northern district of Itatolo. The 30-year-old secretary for organisation and human-resources within the Force Montante Congolaise, the youth wing of the Congolese Labour Party (PCT), had disappeared three days earlier after leaving his family home on Rue Koussouassissa in the populous seventh arrondissement of Mfilou. Despite urgent alerts posted by relatives and comrades on social networks, and…

Anniversary rally rekindles national curiosity Two years after his election as president of the Union of Humanist Democrats – Yuki, Joseph Badiabio chose the esplanade of Lycée Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, in the heart of Bacongo, to host a rally that mixed celebration with calculation. Standing in a slowly rolling vehicle and saluted by a brass band, the deputy for Makélékélé’s second constituency reminded several thousand sympathisers that this ground was once a cradle of civic awakening, a symbolism he said he felt compelled to honour on 20 December 2025. A candidacy tied to electoral guarantees Supporters had come with…

A fortnight of accountability before the press The closing edition of the Government Fortnight for 2025 gathered an audience uncharacteristically large even for this now-institutionalised exercise in public communication. At the Hilton Twin Towers in Brazzaville, Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso, flanked by several cabinet members and senior advisers, took the lectern on 20 December and devoted more than two hours to questions from local and foreign journalists. The session, opened by Minister of Communication Thierry Lézin Moungalla with a minute of silence for two recently deceased journalists, unfolded in a climate of solemnity that underscored the administration’s stated commitment…

Security sweep targets Koulouna phenomenon The sugar-belt city of Nkayi has lived for months under the intermittent anxiety generated by so-called Koulouna, small groups of marginalised youths sometimes nicknamed “bébés noirs”. In mid-December, a specialised detachment of the Presidential Security Directorate, DGSP, launched a preventive operation designed to dismantle the networks suspected of petty violence and drug trafficking that had unsettled residents and traders alike (Congolese Information Agency). While popular discourse often paints Koulouna in menacing strokes, security officials insist the objective of the sweep was twofold: to neutralise hard-core offenders and to offer guidance to adolescents at risk of…

A strategic handshake from the Horn to the Gulf of Guinea The Ethiopian capital hosted, this week, an understated yet symbolically charged signing ceremony that may recalibrate security dynamics between the Horn of Africa and Central Africa. Defence Minister Engineer Aisha Mohammed and her Congolese counterpart, Lieutenant-General Charles Richard Mondjo, initialled a memorandum of understanding whose declared objective is to erect a durable architecture of bilateral defence cooperation. Addis-Ababa, already a continental diplomatic hub as seat of the African Union, offered a discreet stage for what both delegations described as an “historic alignment of security interests”. Beyond the ceremonial optics,…

Strategic Planning Conference Sets the Tone The vast amphitheatre of the General Staff in Brazzaville fell silent on 17 December as Brigadier-General François Ossele, Director of Operations of the Congolese Armed Forces (FAC), declared that the institution had reached all the benchmarks it had set for the inaugural planning conference devoted to the 2026 presidential election. According to the senior officer, the closed-door sessions enabled commanders to align administrative, logistical and operational parameters around a single imperative: enabling citizens to cast their vote in a climate of serenity (Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 17 December 2023). General Ossele underlined that the…

White House Cites Security Considerations In a proclamation released late on Friday, President Donald Trump confirmed that the long-discussed expansion of the United States travel ban will take effect on 1 January. The document, echoing language first used in 2017, argues that the measure is “necessary to safeguard the homeland” and points to perceived deficiencies in foreign identity-management systems, elevated visa-overstay rates and limited cooperation in the readmission of deportees (White House statement). While the move has predictable domestic political resonance, its diplomatic reverberations—particularly in Africa—are likely to be equally pronounced. Scope of the New Measures and Affected Passports Under…

Senate Q&A underscores fiscal transparency Under the gilded ceiling of the Palais des Congrès, the upper house devoted its last question-time of the year to the delicate arithmetic of public revenues. Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso, flanked by five key ministers, faced senators eager for assurances that every franc collected on citizens’ electricity bills is faithfully channelled to the Treasury. President of the Senate Pierre Ngolo framed the debate as a “responsibility exercise, not a duel”, setting a tone of constructive scrutiny that both branches of government appeared keen to cultivate. CFA 1.508 bn transferred in 2024 Responding to repeated…