Albert Kalonji
Encyclopedia
Albert Kalonji is a Congolese
politician best known for leading the short-lived secession
ist state
of South Kasai
during the Congo Crisis
. Kalonji, a Luba
chief
, was a leader (with Joseph Ileo) of a moderate
faction of Prime Minister
Patrice Lumumba
's MNC
.
Within days of being granted independence from Belgium, the new country (at the time called the Republic of the Congo
) plunged into chaos; amid the turmoil, Moise Tshombe
, president of Katanga Province
, announced that "We are seceding from chaos," and declared Katanga's independence on 11 July 1960. Kalonji, partly motivated by tribal rivalries, followed suit shortly afterwards and declared the independence of the diamond
-rich province of South Kasai on 8 August, giving himself the title (French for Supreme Chief of the Muluba People and Uncontested Protector of the Associated Tribes).
During his brief tenure, Kalonji, who vehemently hated Lumumba (due to the slaughter of thousands of Luba, which Kalonji blamed on the central government), unsuccessfully sought American help in overthrowing Lumumba.
On 12 April 1961, Kalonji's father was granted the title Mulopwe (which roughly translates to "emperor" or "god-king"), but he immediately "abdicated" in favor his son. On 16 July, Kalonji rejected royalty status, but retained the title of Mulopwe and changed his name to Albert I Kalonji Ditunga.
Kalonji's reign, however, proved to be short-lived; after a four-month military campaign, the military of the central government managed to successfully capture South Kasai, and on 30 December, Kalongi was arrested. He did manage to escape shortly afterwards, and managed to maintain a government that lasted till October 1962.
Following Joseph Mobutu
's 1965 coup
, South Kasai was divided into two regions, partly to discourage future secessionist tendencies.
As of 2007, Kalonji is still living and retains the title Souverain Possesseur des Terres occupées par les Balubas (Sovereign Owner of the occupied Lands of the Baluba). He is the author of Memorandum: Ma lutte, au Kasai, pour la Verite au service de la Justice (published 1964) and Congo 1960. La Sécession du Sud-Kasaï. La vérité du Mulopwe (published 2005).
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
politician best known for leading the short-lived secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist state
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
of South Kasai
South Kasai
South Kasai was a secessionist region in the area of south central Republic of the Congo during the early 1960s. The region sought independence in similar circumstances to neighboring State of Katanga during the political turmoil arising from the decolonization of Belgian Congo...
during the Congo Crisis
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...
. Kalonji, a Luba
Luba people
The Luba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. They are indigenous to the Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema regions which were historic provinces of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo...
chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, was a leader (with Joseph Ileo) of a moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
faction of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's Head of Government.-History:The current Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Adolphe Muzito...
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
's MNC
Mouvement National Congolais
The Mouvement National Congolais is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.-History:The party was founded in 1958 as a nationalist, pro-independence group in the Belgian Congo...
.
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
) plunged into chaos; amid the turmoil, Moise Tshombe
Moise Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
, president of Katanga Province
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
, announced that "We are seceding from chaos," and declared Katanga's independence on 11 July 1960. Kalonji, partly motivated by tribal rivalries, followed suit shortly afterwards and declared the independence of the diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
-rich province of South Kasai on 8 August, giving himself the title (French for Supreme Chief of the Muluba People and Uncontested Protector of the Associated Tribes).
During his brief tenure, Kalonji, who vehemently hated Lumumba (due to the slaughter of thousands of Luba, which Kalonji blamed on the central government), unsuccessfully sought American help in overthrowing Lumumba.
On 12 April 1961, Kalonji's father was granted the title Mulopwe (which roughly translates to "emperor" or "god-king"), but he immediately "abdicated" in favor his son. On 16 July, Kalonji rejected royalty status, but retained the title of Mulopwe and changed his name to Albert I Kalonji Ditunga.
Kalonji's reign, however, proved to be short-lived; after a four-month military campaign, the military of the central government managed to successfully capture South Kasai, and on 30 December, Kalongi was arrested. He did manage to escape shortly afterwards, and managed to maintain a government that lasted till October 1962.
Following Joseph Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
's 1965 coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, South Kasai was divided into two regions, partly to discourage future secessionist tendencies.
As of 2007, Kalonji is still living and retains the title Souverain Possesseur des Terres occupées par les Balubas (Sovereign Owner of the occupied Lands of the Baluba). He is the author of Memorandum: Ma lutte, au Kasai, pour la Verite au service de la Justice (published 1964) and Congo 1960. La Sécession du Sud-Kasaï. La vérité du Mulopwe (published 2005).