The French home of the son of the President of the Republic of Congo, also Minister of International Cooperation and Public-Private Partnership, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in Hauts-de-Seine (92), was burglarized in December 2023, while he was abroad. His partner, Nathalie Bumba, originally from the other side of the Congo, is multiplying property acquisitions in Dubai, while the rivalry between Denis Christel and his cousin Edgar Nguesso for the succession of Denis Sassou-Nguesso, at the head of the Congo, has never been so relevant. All this while almost half of the Congolese live below the poverty line.
Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso and company in the hot seat
“In 2023, the unemployment rate is estimated at 16% nationally and 25% for young people aged 15 to 29, while poverty reaches 46.6% of the population with a debt rate of 109, 7% of GDP.
Figures are from the World Bank and IMF. And these institutions are sounding the alarm on the fact that, if we can consider overall that there is no danger yet, the economic prospects of the Congo could nevertheless be darkened by the sovereign debt crisis European.
In this context, how can we understand the gap between the lifestyle of the President of the Republic, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, his more or less close entourage, even certain ministers, and the daily reality of the majority of Congolese?
The question, however provocative it may seem to many observers, nonetheless remains legitimate in view of the figures put forward above. This is especially true since the latest events, dated December 2023, concerning the home of the president’s son, Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, also Minister of International Cooperation and Public-Private Partnership, and the property owned by, in Dubai, Nathalie Bumba, his partner, would support the idea of the squandering of public funds.
The home of the son of the president of Congo-Brazzaville, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, was burglarized in France, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in Hauts-de-Seine (92). According to a police source, the events took place in the evening between December 23 and December 26. “Thugs broke in by climbing through the first floor window of the home. The owner of the premises – Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso was abroad”, revealed our colleagues from Parisian, last December. The same source states: “A first assessment made by the French police speaks of damage varying between 1,800 euros and 6,000 dollars, plus a stolen checkbook as well as luxury leather goods, an unsealed safe, filled money, valuable jewelry and sensitive documents. The investigation was entrusted to the sub-directorate of the judicial police (SDPJ) of Hauts-de-Seine (92).
Remember that in 2022, a private mansion located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, belonging to Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, the son of the President of Congo, was seized in a case of suspicion of “ill-gotten gains”. The name of Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso is also cited in several other scandalous cases.
From Freddy Batenga to Donald Fylla… Nominees to deceive the vigilance of the tax administration
He is notably suspected of engaging in maneuvers enabling him to evade the tax administration. One of its key strategies would be the use of nominees, individuals who, on the surface, appear to be the legitimate owners of businesses and property. However, they are only responsible for it. The one who really controls these companies would be the son of the Congolese head of state. What is this mechanism for? One may rightly ask. The main role of these nominees would be to hold shares of assets in companies in his name, thus allowing him to avoid the scrutiny of the tax administration and public opinion. Generally, these nominees are recruited in the more or less immediate vicinity of the Sassou clan. Which means that well-known personalities from this circle are involved.
Starting with Jean-Marie Moussengo Alilo, known to have been very close to Denis Christel Sassou, to the point of being parachuted in, a few years ago, as manager of the company “Atlas Logistique”, managing the family plane. Sassou N’Guesso, a Hawker 800 which is abandoned on the tarmac of Dubai airport. A few years ago, the Africa Intelligence website published an article entitled “ Congo: Air Sassou blocked at Dubai airport ». The article was devoted to “the Congolese oligarch Jean-Marie Moussengo Alilo whose plane, widely used by the Congolese presidential family, is immobilized on the tarmac of Dubai, where he has accumulated unpaid debts to the tune of 1.7 million euros”. Jean Marie Moussengo received so much money that he did not pay attention to expenses and other debts. The plane and its company would, according to different sources, be financed by money from the Congolese state. What’s more, he lived for months at the Palace Peninsula, in a suite costing 15,000 euros per night. His wife at the time, Ndeye Diop, raided the boutiques of Paris’ luxurious Avenue Montaigne. Meanwhile, her husband, who considered himself a businessman, ended up being pushed aside by Denis Christel Sassou, who will have no trouble recruiting his replacement. He has nominees in spades. From Fredy Batenga, to Éric Bimbeni Gervel, Olivia and Nathalie Bumba, via Max Monka, Cekonge and other Donald Fylla… are only stooges serving the omnipotence of Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso.
The president’s son makes and breaks fortunes according to his moods. This is where the money that should go to the Congolese goes, while no one dares to hold the President of the Republic to account, even less his ministers.
As for Nathalie Bumba, born on the other side of the Congo River, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and currently in a relationship with Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, she is the only person worthy of all the attention and trust of the latter, the dauphin, the Prince dreaming of himself as Vizier in place of the Vizier. Love has its reasons it seems, which reason itself ignores. What is indisputable is that Nathalie Bumba, who has yet to conquer the hearts of the Congolese people, since she is considered a foreigner who spends money with the Congolese taxpayer’s money, is the owner of numerous properties and businesses in Dubai.
This golden flow of Nathalie Bumba’s fortune is the business of her sister Olivia who also leads a hectic lifestyle.
A reality little appreciated by the Congolese, tired of the Sassou clan having fun with public funds like others would play at the Casino. With this difference that it is Congolese money that is in question. As a result, President Sassou could soon signal the end of recess, he who seems very embarrassed by the tinted pans that his son, Denis Christel, drags around, and who rightly or wrongly gives the impression of being impatient to take the reins of power, pretending to ignore that his cousin, Edgar Nguesso, the Director of the presidential domain is never very far from the heart of the President of the Republic.
Rivalries against the backdrop of post-Sassou succession
“Are the carrots cooked?” Has Denis Sassou Nguesso’s heart stopped swinging? Between the son and the nephew, is this the end of the frantic race? Is the Congolese Labor Party (PCT) definitely abandoned and thrown into oblivion? Did Christel Sassou “kill” the match? Is the choice final? Does power in Congo-Brazzaville come down to a family affair? », asked a blog post from Club Médiapart, published by a whistleblower, on January 8, 2022, under the title “The big loser Edgar Nguesso”. The writing, in the context of the 2021 presidential election in Congo, bet on the fact that President Sassou had definitively set his sights on his son to the detriment of his nephew. However, in politics, the truth of the day is not necessarily that of the next day.
While it is likely that at the time, Denis Christel was on the rise, his legal troubles, particularly with the ill-gotten gains affair, have, without a doubt, seriously lowered his rating not only in the hearts of the Congolese, also in that of his father. And in fact, according to well-informed sources, Edgar Sassou Nguesso is taking Denis Christel’s place as the President’s legitimate heir. “The ill-gotten gains affair poisons the life of President Sassou, his entourage, including his son Denis Christel, and the vast majority of the Congolese people. This affair tarnishes the image of the country,” confides a close relative of the family, continuing: “Edgar Nguesso remains very appreciated by his uncle.”
Especially since Denis Christel’s business management methods, with the multiplication of nominees, helps to support the idea of an opaque operation, of a gang leader surrounded by thugs.
The requirement for transparency and integrity
This apparently well-oiled system of nominees allows son Sassou to slip through the cracks of taxation and public opinion, while accumulating a considerable fortune. It’s a dangerous game, because these straw men, once they become too cumbersome or too visible, are unceremoniously discarded. Nothing surprising, in reality, in this jubilant and carefree way that the Sassou-Nguesso clan burns the Congolese taxpayer’s money so easily. Alongside these tax maneuvers, the son of the Congolese head of state harbors political ambitions. He is trying to position himself as a key player in the political future of Congo Brazza, while enriching himself at the expense of the people he claims to want to serve. The contrast between his stated ambitions and the reality of his conduct raises serious and numerous questions about his real intentions and the future direction of the country, as much as about his conception of the management of public affairs and his sense of the general interest. The exploitation of Congo’s wealth for personal gain is an affront to democracy, with all that it implies in terms of transparency, good governance and integrity. The Falcon 7X affair sufficiently illustrates this state of affairs while highlighting the disinterest that many heads of state, in Africa as in the world, have in relation to the aspirations and dreams of the citizens who have nevertheless mandated them to the conduct of the daily affairs of nations.
It is essential that these facts are brought to public attention and that the perpetrators are held accountable. The Congo lacks neither skills nor personalities up to the challenges of coherent and sustainable development of the country, leaders who place the well-being of the people above their personal interests, respect tax laws and, above all, who act with complete transparency in the conduct of the affairs of the republic.
The future of the Congo depends on the will of the people to demand this transparency and integrity from their leaders, but also on the determination of the latter to promote a sense of the general interest to the detriment of their own personal interest and the ability to massively involve the nation in building a Congo where there is a good sense of living together.
To complete the information revealed by the Panama Pappers on the presidential family, our journalists are interested in the Offshore accounts and companies registered at the First Abu Dhabi Bank in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai, new destination for ill-gotten goods.
