Author: Pascal Kabeya

A Ceremony Rich in Symbolism The marble atrium of Brazzaville’s Palais des Congrès seldom falls silent, yet on 25 July 2025 an unusual hush preceded presidential protocol. Moments later, President Denis Sassou Nguesso fastened the crimson sash of Grand-Croix of the Congolese Order of Merit on the shoulders of Professor Joseph Théophile Obenga, while a diplomatic gallery observed with studied attentiveness. In the official narrative, the decoration rewards “exceptional service to national prestige”; in practice, it binds the state to one of its most compelling public intellectuals, an octogenarian whose academic itinerary mirrors a good portion of Africa’s own search…

Geneva Spotlight on a Brazzaville Vision A soft Alpine breeze greeted the African delegations converging on Geneva for the World Summit on the Information Society Forum, yet the atmosphere inside the Palais des Nations was distinctly equatorial. It was there that the Republic of Congo, a country of five million but ambitious digital horizons, officially introduced Luc Missidimbazi as its candidate for Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union for the 2026-2030 term. Before ministers and senior officials, he delivered a speech laced with both humility and resolve, invoking what he called “the irreversible necessity of a continental voice capable of…