Denis Sassou Nguesso

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Denis Sassou Nguesso : biography

November 23, 1943 –

Return to Presidency

In May 1997, a visit by Sassou Nguesso to Owando, Yhombi-Opango’s political stronghold, led to the outbreak of violence between his supporters and those of Yhombi-Opango. On June 5, 1997, government forces surrounded Sassou Nguesso’s home in the Mpila section of Brazzaville, attempting to arrest two men, Pierre Aboya and Engobo Bonaventure, who had been implicated in the earlier violence. Fighting broke out between the government forces and Sassou Nguesso’s fighters, called Cobras, and led to the outbreak of a civil war. By October, Sassou Nguesso, who was aided at the end of the war by Angolan troops, was in control of the country, and he was sworn in as President on October 25.

Sassou Nguesso declared that he was willing to allow a return to democracy and began a three-year transition process in 1998, but renewed fighting with opposition groups led to the collapse of the endeavor. With the government forces in ascendancy and following peace agreements in 1999, elections were re-scheduled for 2002, although not all rebel groups signed the accords. On March 10 Sassou Nguesso won with almost 90% of the vote; his two main rivals Lissouba and Kolelas were prevented from competing. The only remaining credible rival, André Milongo, withdrew his candidacy three days before the election day, claiming that the election would be rigged. A new constitution was agreed upon in January 2002 which granted the president new powers and extended presidential terms from five to seven years. While the 2002 elections were hailed as being free of violence, they conferred little legitimacy on Sassou Nguesso’s regime due to the lack of meaningful participation by opposition parties. Sassou Nguesso was sworn in on August 14, 2002.Richard Songo, , Congopage.com, August 14, 2002 .

Having already served as the Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity in 1986 to 1987, he was elected Chairman of the African Union, the OAU’s successor body, in January 2006. His election was the result of a compromise reached to prevent the chairmanship from going to Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan. Despite making frequent trips around the continent and around the world during his year-long tenure as AU chairman, Sassou Nguesso’s achievements in the office were limited.

Sassou Nguesso was re-elected as President of the Central Committee of the PCT at the party’s Fifth Extraordinary Congress in December 2006.Willy Mbossa, , Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, December 30, 2006 .

In January 2007, Sassou Nguesso’s international reputation suffered a blow after a panel of judges in France reopened an official investigation into the alleged role of Sassou Nguesso’s government in the 1999 disappearance of 353 Congolese refugees.

in absentia

As Congo-Brazzaville prepared to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from France in 2010, Sassou Nguesso noted that the country had far to go in fully realizing the dream of independence: "Our country will not be totally independent until our people are free of the yoke of poverty." He presided over a large parade in Brazzaville, featuring thousands of soldiers and civilians, to celebrate the anniversary on 15 August 2010., AFP, 15 August 2010.