Statements on Congo’s Elections

SADC congratulates President-Elect of DRCongo, Mr Felix Tshisekedi
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The African Union Commission takes note of the decision of the Constitutional Court of the DRC
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Congo's Constitutional Court Proclaims Felix Tshisekedi President
Click here to read!

African Union Calls on Congo to Suspend Proclamation of Final Results
Click here to read!

The Double Troika Summit (Summit) of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held in Addis Ababa, in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on 17th January 2019.
Click here to read (PDF)!

URGENT - SADC urges all-inclusive government in DRC
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U.S. Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Pushes State Department to Address Concerns About DRC Elections
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National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO)
Click here to read!

African Union Commission
Click here to read!

United Nations
Click here to read!

Southern African Development Community
Click here to read!

South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa
Click here to read!

Economic Freedom Fighters
Click here to read!

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
Click here to read!

European Union
Click here to read!

France
Click here to read!

Canada
Click here to read!

United States, State Department
Click here to read!

United States Congress, House Foreign Affairs
Click here to read!

US Representative, Karen Bass
Click here to read!

The Fight To End Tyrannical Regimes in Congo Persists

January 4th is a seminal day in Congo’s history, which serves as a national holiday. On January 4, 1959, ordinary Congolese stood in defiance of Belgian colonialism demanding independence. Congolese in Kinshasa unleashed a spontaneous uprising out of frustration with the repressive Belgian colonial regime. In his critically acclaimed work "Congo: From Leopold to Kabila," Dr Georges Nzongola Ntalaja said the march on January 4, 1959 "sounded the death knell of Belgian Colonialism in the Congo." The unifying chant of the marchers was "Indépendance Immediate" or "Independence Now" in English. The uprising represented the radicalization of the struggle for independence. It frightened not only the Belgian authorities but also the Congolese elites know as évolués.

Nine days later on January 13, 1959 both the King of Belgium and the Belgium government announced that in due time Belgium would grant Congo full independence. In the conscience of the nation, the day represents the historic point of departure for the independence of the Congo from Belgian colonialism.

The courageous stance by that generation of Congolese served as a key catalyst for Congo’s independence in 1960. Since the 1960s Congolese have celebrated and commemorated that generation’s actions and named the day “la journée des martyrs de l’indépendance,” or in English, independence Martyrs Day. Without a doubt, Congolese of that era made enormous sacrifices for freedom and independence.

Congolese continue to make tremendous sacrifice for total independence and liberation from tyranny. The youth have been at the forefront of this fight. During the past few years, Congolese youth have paid the dearest price in confronting the tyrannical regime of president Joseph Kabila. Throughout 2018, Congolese youth rose up to demand democracy and justice in the Congo. Unfortunately, several of them paid the ultimate price for demanding change under the repressive regime of Joseph Kabila. Figures such as Rossy Mukendi, Therese Kapangala, Luc Nkulula and many others are martyrs of the pro-democracy movement in the Congo.

Courageous Congolese continue to make enormous sacrifices for a better future for the sons and daughters of the Congo. As Congo enters 2019, Congolese youth and the broader Congolese society are still pursuing peace and democracy. They are demanding that the Congolese government and the broader African and International community respect the will of the Congolese people following the December 30, 2018 elections. Click here to get the latest updates on the post-election demands of the Congolese people.

Join the global movement in support of a peaceful and just Congo by visiting Telema.org!

DRC elections : The Catholic Church has the regime of Kinshasa over a barrel

The Congolese people, who are growing suspicious of the maneuvers of the Independent National Electoral Commission CENI in acronym, were awaiting the results of the elections of December 30, 2018 when the Congolese government shut down the internet across the country. For the majority of the population, this move confirms the bad intentions of the government in complicity with the CENI. On the same day, while the DRC government was cutting the country’s internet services, the Secretary General and spokesperson of CENCO (Catholic  Bishops Conference), Fr Donatien Nshole, intervened  to make a partial presentation of the electoral process throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Nshole announced that they received 17,023 reports on voting operations, meaning informations of 78, 22% voting centers throughout the Republic.

Through its reports the CENCO declares that the general climate of the voting process was relatively calm.  In several polling stations the CENI respected the closure of polling station procedure. The CENI relaunched voting operations where the vote was interrupted. Polling stations, it says, worked relatively well.

The voting operations were interrupted due to:

- Malfunction of the voting machine. Therefore some voters could not vote;
- In some polling stations there was no  ballots counting;
- Observers and witnesses have been excluded from certain counting centers.

The General-Secretariat of CENCO says that it remains in constant contact with the CENI and all stakeholders in order to find solutions to the mentioned incidents.

In the room « Marie reine de la paix », the abbot went on to presenting the counting report. He quoted 3,496 reports which attest that:

- the Presidents of the polling stations opened the ballot box in front of the witnesses and the observers;

- 1,181 reports show that the counting process started between 5 pm and 6 pm, while 2,990 reports indicate that the counting started at 7 pm;

- 3,626 reports show that the number of ballot papers in the ballot box was equal to the electronic count;

- 1.959 reports indicate that the report on the sorting process, the results sheet of the voting machine and the results sheet of the manual count were signed by all the members of the counting center, the witnesses who were present and the 5 designated voters ;

- 2,574 reports indicate that the minutes of the polling operations, the report on the sorting process, the results sheet of the voting machine and the manual counting sheet were given to the witnesses who were present;

- 2,839 reports attest that the polling results sheet was displayed at the end of the count, but 342 attest that the voting results sheet has not yet been displayed.

I THINK THAT THERE IS A SENTENCE MISSING HERE TO INTRODUCE THIS QUOTE BOTH IN FRENCH AND IN ENGLISH !  (Suggestion : Addressing the nation, the government, the political parties and those who attended his press conference ,the Secretary General of CENCO, Donation Nshole, went on by saying:)

"The General Secretariat of CENCO asks the Congolese people to remain calm while waiting for the results to ensure the credibility of the results.

The General Secretariat of CENCO asks the CENI to pursue any action ensuring the process transparency, the display of the manual counting results at the polling stations, the identification of the Local Compilation Centers of the CLCR Results, and to provide observers access to these centers.
The General Secretariat of CENCO congratulates the government for ensuring the smooth functioning of the Internet.  I am sorry to learn just before entering the room that the internet was cut. Unfortunately the message was already signed, thank you!

During the Mass of the first day of the year, the Catholic Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo preached about the birth of Jesus Christ, referring to the book of Luke chapter 2, verse 18 to 24.  The homily delivered at the end of the Mass referred to the current situation with regard to the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and underscored the need for vigilance.

The position of the Catholic Church puts the regime of Kinshasa in a very difficult and uncomfortable situation. On one hand CENCO holds the credible results of the elections and on the other hand it calls to civil mobilization through the idea of vigilance. We all know that the Catholic church, through its Lay Committee ( CLC- Lay Coordination Committee), is the biggest and the strongest mobilizing force in DRC. They are the ones, following three marches of protest in 2017 and 2018, who managed to obtain of the regime in Kinshasa to organize the elections of December 30, 2018.

The Catholic Church has the regime of Kinshasa over a barrel!

Jean-Marie Kalonji
Coordinator
Quatrieme Voie

Congo’s Security Forces Kill Two University Students

Within a span of four days, the Kabila regime's security forces killed two students and injured many others at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN). The Congolese police fired live bullets on students who were protesting because the start of school was delayed due to a strike. The students were demanding the immediate resumption of classes.


Since January 2015, following the Telema uprisings, UNIKIN has been under occupation by Congo's security forces and infiltrated by the Kabila regime's intelligence services. The latest clash occurred as a result of a strike by university professors which began on October 8th. Frustrated about not being able to begin classes for the new school year, UNIKIN students demanded a resolution of the strike by protesting. In response to the students call for a return to classes, the police violently clamped down on the protests, resulting in the death of  Hyacinthe Kimbafu who was studying computer science and Rodrigue Eliwo a student studying biology.

The UNIKIN students have continued to protest both the strike and now the killing of their fellow students. One of the Lumumba Scholars, outraged by the killings says "It is unconscionable to see the youth killed for demanding their rights. What kind of country are we living in where demanding our rights brings with it a death sentence?"

A number of the presidential candidates (elections are scheduled for December 23rd) and political figures have condemned the police killing of the two UNIKIN students. The Congolese Association for Access to Justice (CAAJ) has called on the Congolese government to remove the police force from the campus and bring charges against the officers responsible for killing Hyacinthe and Rodrigue. Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes said "The government must immediately launch a thorough and impartial investigation into these student deaths and bring to justice those found to be responsible."

Congo's security forces must be held to account for the killing of Rodrigue and Hyancinthe. Click here to let Steve Mbikayi, Minister of Higher Education and Marie-Ange Mushobekwa, Minister of Human Rights know that the use of lethal force against students on campuses is a crime and the police responsible for the killings must be brought to justice.


Congratulations to Dr. Mukwege for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Congratulations to Dr. Mukwege for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize!


Friends of the Congo congratulates Dr. Denis Mukwege on being awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. He was joint winner of the Prize with Nadia Murad an Iraqi human rights activist and survivor of sexual violence by the Islamic State.

True to his vocation, Dr. Mukwege learned of the news in the midst of performing a surgery. He dedicated the Nobel Prize to "women of all countries in the world, harmed by conflict and facing violence every day." He also had a special message for survivors, noting that "I would like to tell you that through this prize, the world is listening to you and refusing to remain indifferent. The world refuses to sit idly in the face of your suffering." 

 Congolese women at the Panzi Hospital were overjoyed by the news and gave Dr. Mukwege a spontaneous and exuberant celebration.

Holding true to his principles of speaking truth to power, Dr. Mukwege reiterated his call for a new leadership in the Congo. He stated in an interview with the Guardian: "I've always said that it's an illegal and illegitimate government. They must hand over to a caretaker government, which can organise free, fair, credible elections, and this transition must also put in place the foundations to build a solid democracy." He elaborates, "I think we'll have elections on 23 December, but I think we'll elect the same people, and the same actors will produce the same system that perpetuates the violence. The December elections do not seem credible or transparent - it's a parody of an election." Read more here!

To the chagrin of the Congolese government, Dr. Mukwege is not only dedicated to caring for women who have been victims of sexual violence but he is also an indefatigable moral voice for peace, justice and dignity in the Congo.

---------------
Join us for Congo in Harlem!

Stay abreast of the latest updates via @Congofriends!

Morocco Solidarity Statement: An Appeal for Release of Social Justice Detainees

Friends of the Congo supports the social justice pursuits of the people of the Rif region of Morocco and elsewhere in the country. This region of Morocco is steeped in anti-colonial resistance and social justice actions in the face of tyranny.

The Moroccan political regime's attacks against peace loving and justice seeking activists in Morocco's northern Rif region is disconcerting, especially considering the region's deep anti-colonial history. As a solidarity organization that works with Congolese youth who are under incessant attacks by the Congolese security forces, Friends of the Congo has a keen understanding of what it is like to be pursued by state security forces that fire live bullets at demonstrators, carry out mass arrests and crush social justice advocates.

Friends of the Congo is wholly familiar with baseless charges against social justice activists throughout the African continent under the guise of threatening state security, offending a head of state or disturbing public order. It is outrageous for the Moroccan government to sentence 53 social justice advocates to 300 years of jail time. The courageous Hirak movement is reminiscent of the #Telema youth movement that challenged the Congolese government in 2015.

We stand in solidarity with our Moroccan brothers and sisters fighting for social and economic justice. We extend our sincere concern to the family and loved ones of the Rif detainees who have been wrongly and excessively sentenced. We call on the Makhze (The Moroccan political regime) to immediately release Nasser Zefzafi and all the other detainees.

Finally, we appeal to social justice seekers throughout Africa and the globe to join us in standing in solidarity with the people of Morocco fighting for justice and human dignity.

Manifeste d’Atlanta

Synopsis
Réunis en conclave à Atlanta, USA, un groupe d’intellectuels congolais s’est penché sur la crise
que traverse la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) depuis plus de deux décennies. Au
bout de deux jours d’intenses débats, ils se sont convenus sur beaucoup de points dont voici les
principaux :

Constats
  • La crise en République Démocratique du Congo est une crise à plusieurs facettes: politique, économique, sociale, culturelle, leadership, sécuritaire et éducationnelle ;
  • Le pays est occupé par des pays étrangers, spécialement le Rwanda et l’Ouganda ;
  • Les occupants sont assistés par des forces extérieures de l’Occident et d’ailleurs, y compris de certains pays africains qui bénéficient énormément de la crise ;
  • Les soi-disant dirigeants sont illégitimes et illégaux car ils gouvernent sans mandat ;
  • Bref, dans sa configuration actuelle, la RDC est un pays pris en otage et dont l’existence est sérieusement en danger.
Propositions
Face à ces constats, les participants à ce conclave ont proposé quelques actions à prendre:
  • Demander aux pays du monde de ne plus reconnaitre le régime en place;
  • Résister, lutter contre l’occupation en solidarité avec les compatriotes qui résistent et luttent pour la même cause, où qu’ils soient;
  • Soutenir et défendre la transition immédiate de l’occupation à un collège de transition qui sera chargé d’organiser des élections, d’assurer la continuité dans le fonctionnement de l’Etat;
  • La transition devra se faire sans la participation du régime d’occupation ;
  • Transformer les forces armées, les services de renseignement et la police nationale;
  • Transformer le système de l’éducation d’aval en amont;
  • Bâtir un Etat de droit dans lequel le peuple sera souverain.
Cliquez ici pour télécharger le document entier!

Assassination Of A Congolese Patriot: Yet The Resistance Grows

The Lay Coordinating Committee issued a call for a third march on Sunday, February 25th. The march was organized in the same fashion as the previous two marches on December 31, 2017 and January 21, 2018, whereby attendees went to mass and demonstrated after church. The committee's demands remained consistent - For Kabila to declare that he would not run for a third term and that he would adhere to key elements of the December 31, 2016 Saint Sylvestre Agreement, which called for actions such as the expansion of political space, release of political prisoners, cessation of arbitrarily arrests and the return of exiled leaders.

Prior to Sunday's march, there was a great deal of international attention and moral pressure exerted on the Kabila regime. Members of the US Congress and foreign affairs offices of the U.S., U.K. and E.U. issued statements calling on the Kabila regime to avoid using lethal force on demonstrates and allowing them to march freely and peacefully.

Keenly aware of the increased attention generated by its repression of peaceful marchers, the regime adjusted its tactics in form but not in substance. On Saturday, February 24th, the night prior to the march, the youth wing of Joseph Kabila's political party, the Peoples Party for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD) attempted to occupy one of the main churches in the Lingwala neighborhood of Kinshasa, the capital of the DR Congo. The PPRD youth claimed they were coming into the churches to arrest the priests and pass them over to the police. Youth from the Lingwala neighborhood led by Quatrieme Voie members mobilized to protect the members of the church from the Kabila regime's goons in red berets.

Unfortunately, the day of the March was another bloody affair. Police officers literally staked out churches commando-style as if they were in pursuit of well armed enemy combatants (see below photo).

“A policeman takes cover in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo, February 25, 2018. Reuters/ Goran Tomasevic”
According to the Lay Coordinating Committee, dozens were injured and arrested and at least three people were killed by Kabila's security forces. Most notably, youth activist Rossy Mukendi of activist group "Collectif 2016" succumbed to the bullet of a Congolese police officer. his death has touched the activist community deeply (see below photo).


In spite of the brutal repression from the Kabila regime, the resolve of the Committee is as strong as ever. In a communique issued the day of the march, the committee warned the Kabila regime that there will be no let up on the regime as long as the people is denied their dignity and liberty.

Let us not let up either. Click here to sign the petition demanding justice for the victims of the Kabila regime.

What’s next after the movie, Black Panther?

What’s next after the movie, Black Panther?
By Maurice Robinson

“There is a new world coming and that new world is going to come from Africa” – Kwame Nkrumah.

The African world is highly excited for the anticipated Marvel-Disney movie titled the “Black Panther” which leads to the movie outselling every previous superhero film in advance ticket sales. Black Panther is a fictional super hero character created by Stanley Liber better known as Stan Lee. Many sources confirmed that Lee’s inspiration of the Black Panther logo stems from the Lowndes County Freedom Organization’s logo, which emerged from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in late 1965 and was associated with founding members Willie "Mukasa Dada" Ricks and Kwame Toure also known as Stokely Carmichael (https://adeptpress.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/the-black--panthersthe-coal-tiger-and-us/). The Alabama group used the Black Panther as its logo but the image and term was swiftly picked up by western media in 1966 and was then used by a number of organizations, including two in California (Oakland and Watts), one in Chicago and New York City.

Mr. Lee, editor-writer of Marvel comic book superheroes, the Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman, Thor and the X-Men developed the character, Black Panther in July of 1966. Stan Lee was also inspired by the Civil Rights movement to create the X-men comic. Lee and his partner Jack Kirby used the iconic civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and El-Hajj Malik Shabazz also known as Malcolm X as the inspirations for characters Charles Xavier also known as Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr also known as Magneto, the creators of the X-Men ”(X-Men-Malcolm-Martin). Stan Lee created the characters to fight against oppression that mutants faced in society instead of fighting aliens and criminals. In a 2000 interview Lee stated that the X-Men were “a good metaphor for what was happening with the civil rights movement in the country at that time”(X- Men-Malcolm-Martin). The X-Men mutant heroes used tactics similar to those that were used by King and Malcolm in the 1960s. Professor X strategized a non-violent tactic similar to King and Magneto took more of a defensive stance against violent oppression and prejudice similar to Malcolm.

The era of the 1960s was not only an era of the Civil Rights Movement but also filled with African Independence on the African continent with President Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah achieving independence in Ghana from 1957 to 1966, Amilcar Cabral gaining independence in Guinea-Bissau in 1963, Patrice Emory Lumumba achieving independence in the Congo in 1960 and many more. The backstory of the Black Panther, also known as T’Challa, concerned him and his nation protecting the high-technical advanced society known as the fictional country of Wakanda from European invaders like the supervillain and arch nemesis of the Black Panther, Klaue (Ulysses Klaue), who is the son of Nazi war criminal Colonel Fritz Klaue. In the comics, Klaue was sent to Wakanda to learn their secrets by European Nations and was granted asylum by the Belgium government (Fantastic Four Unlimited #1 (1993), (Marvel Comics). The East-African nation contained and produced a fictional mineral known as the sound-absorbing element of “Vibranium.” As we all know by now from seeing the trailers or the movie of the Black Panther his suit is made with Vibranium that absorbs vibratory or kinetic energy. This mineral is very similar to the Uranium mineral produced in the Congo that was exploited by Western European nations to use for the development of atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan in August 1945 during World War II (New African Magazine: January 2017 pg. 21).

The Black Panther was considered a socialist. As shown in the movie, Captain America: Civil War, there is a scene where the Black Panther states that he does not approve of American politics. Also in the BET and Marvel Knights animation adaptation of the Black Panther, he boldly identifies as a Pan-African socialist (Black Panther animated series: Episode 4, "Death of a Father"). The original concept of the Black Panther was the Coal Tiger, a media term for post- colonial African nations. The term was used in the media metaphorically to represent the first Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Lumumba, an African revolutionary leader who led resistance against the Belgian colonial government, was also an advocate for nationalizing the resources of the Congo. He was imprisoned, executed and ousted in a military coup backed by the United States of America and Belgium. Let us not forget without neo-colonialism or opportunist puppets, Lumumba would have a hell of a chance of bringing about a Wakanda-like nation in the Congo. The neo-colonialist I am referring to in this instance is Mobutu Sese Seko who served as chief of staff of the army under Lumumba but was taking orders instructed by Belgium and the United States. Mobutu eventually was put in position to deposed Lumumba in 1960. After the assassination of Lumumba, Mobutu transformed the Congo into a ruthless dictatorship nation called Zaire funded by western nations from 1971 to 1997.

Likewise in the animated BET series by writer Reginald Hudlin, The Black Panther which aired in 2010 during sleep hours when the show would likely have lesser viewers, portrayed a character named M’Butu who literally was portrayed to represent the likes of Mobutu (Black Panther animated series: Episode 4, "Death of a Father"). M’Butu was a villain of Black Panther who was backed by Western governments to overthrow the Wakandan leader but failed. M'Butu was also the Prime Minister of Niganda, a fictional country neighboring Wakanda. He was an authoritarian leader, violent with his people and proceeded to barbaric actions, such as purges against doctors (http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Panther_Vol_4_8).

It appears that Lumumba and the Black Panther have 3 main things in common:
1. Protecting their African nations from European governments, more specifically the Belgian government.
2. Having the same goal of maintaining their land and minerals independently for Africans and “Wakadans”.
3. Both being Pan-African socialists with the main goal of keeping their nations free from the exploitive system of capitalism and imperialism.

Minerals like cobalt and coltan that we use today exploited from the Congo is utilized to create the high-tech images that we see in the Black Panther movie. The same minerals make it possible for us to view, share and enjoy pictures and social media posts on our Androids and iPhones. Coltan is a black tar-like mineral found in major quantities in the Congo. The Congo possesses 64 percent of the world's coltan and it can become a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electric charge. The properties of refined coltan is a vital element in creating devices that store energy or capacitors, which are used in a vast array of small electronic devices especially in mobile phones, iPad, tablets, handheld video game devices, laptop computers, pagers, and other electronics (http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/coltan.html). Cobalt is a shiny metal that is a result of the mining of nickel and copper and is found primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC is the largest producer of cobalt in the world, producing an estimated 60% of the world's supply. It also has the largest reserves of cobalt with about 50% of the world's reserve of cobalt. Cobalt is used in two key sectors, military and industry. In the military sector it is vital for the functioning of jet engines and in the commercial industry sector it is critical for rechargeable batteries (http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/coltan.html).

This leads us to the technology question of why is it now that we have a Black Panther movie. The answer is due to the advancement of technology. Actor, Wesley Snipes stated that he had high hopes of bringing the Black Panther to the big screen in the 1990s but failed to do so due to the lack of technology representing the fictional country of Wakanda on the big screen. Snipes reached out to black directors to help develop the film, one in particular, John Singleton. Snipes stated “I laid on him my vision of the film being closer to what you see now: the whole world of Africa being a hidden, highly technically advanced society, cloaked by a force field, Vibranium. Also at the time, we were so far ahead of the game in thinking, the technology was not there to do what they had already created in the comic book” (http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/02/01/wesley-snipes-opens-couldnt-get-black-panther-made-1990s/ ). Due to the setback of technology, Snipes continued to press on with the motion picture, “Blade” about a black vampire hunter superhero (http://atlantablackstar.com/wesley-snipes-opens-couldnt-get-black-panther-made-1990s/). The 1998 film brought in a profit of $131 million worldwide and helped Marvel to get out of debt and put an end to their 1996 bankruptcy. Blade led the way for the Marvel Comic Universe and gave birth to movies like Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America and ultimately the Black Panther. Hence, the cobalt and coltan exploited from the Congo which the fictional country of Wakanda is based on produced the seeds for the movie, Black Panther to be developed. Actress `Lupita Nyong’o who plays Nakia, Black Panther’s love interest in the Black Panther movie stated “ Wakanda is such an exciting world to be in. Like none other we have ever seen. What would Africa look like if it was not colonized? I hope the audience leaves thinking about if they can be citizens of Wakanda” (Lupita Nyong'o “Loves Physical Challenge” of “Black Panther” | E! Live from the Red Carpet, YouTube). This transitions us to what is next after we all see the movie Black Panther and how can we see Wakanda in reality and how can we see the new world that is going to come from Africa as Kwame Nkrumah stated. Some are attempting to strive for the reality by creating petitions pressuring Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Company to donate 25 percent of the profits from the movie to STEM programs in the black community. Moreover, a lot of us were already in the struggle prior to the movie working to get our people to live and experience a real Wakanda by reclaiming our home of Africa for the Africans which can only be done through the means of creating political educational organizations and study groups. Yes, we do see the Black Panther as a king who inherited the mantle of Black Panther from his father, King T’Chaka but please do not let this refocus our view that one person can alleviate the masses out of the oppression of capitalism and imperialism. Kwame Nkrumah stated “The total liberation and the unification of Africa under an All-African socialist government must be the primary objective of all Black revolutionaries throughout the
world” (Nkrumah 88 Class Struggle in Africa).

When we turn our attention to the recent 2018 film adaptation of The Black Panther we have to clearly understand that this movie is not representing the previous comic book version nor the Reginald Hudlin’s BET (Black Entertainment Television) animated series of The Black Panther. The first inconsistency of the movie begins in the year of 1992 with the father of The Black Panther, King T'Chaka traveling to Oakland, California to visit his brother, N'Jobu. Ulysses Klaue portrayed as a Black market arms dealer in the movie infiltrated Wakanda and stole vibranium, and T'Chaka accuses N'Jobu of assisting him. N'Jobu's friend reveals himself to be Zuri, an undercover Wakandan who is a spy. T’Chaka exposed his brother working with Klaue, who in the original comics was the Black Panther’s main nemesis, we do not see this in the movie. In the movie we see T’Chaka’s brother, N’Jobu working with Klaue to use vibranium to create weapons to provide to Africans in America to start a revolution against their oppressors. Yes, I know this sounds confusing and misleading due to N’Jobu working with Klaue, who is a colonizer in the comics, to bring an African revolution in America. Once T’Chaka exposes his brother, N’Jobu, N’Jobu becomes defensive by attempting to kill the Wakandan spy, Zuri (who is portrayed by actor Forest Whitaker) but failed to do so after being murder by his brother T’Chaka (the main Black Panther, T’Challa’s father). We have in the first scene of the movie, black on black violence, furthermore black family violence which sets the tone for the remainder of the movie. However, we do have quick scenes of T’Challa along with his beautiful African female bodyguards, the Dora Milaje, fighting Klaue and European enemies but these scenes last for approximately 30 to 45 minutes out of a 2 hour and 15 minute length motion picture.

After these scenes, the movie takes a dive when C.I.A agent, Everett Ross teams up with The Black Panther to take down Klaue. The Black Panther and Ross fail to take down Klaue due to T’Challa’s cousin, Erik Stevens Killmonger, son of N’Jobu who also was not related to T’Challa in the original comics, breaks Klaue free from the constraints of The Black Panther and C.I.A agent Ross. Once Klaue is free, 10 to 15 minutes later in the movie, Erik Killmonger who is played by Michael B. Jordan turns against Klaue and murder’s him and delivers his corpse to Wakanda. From this scene on throughout the entire movie, black on black violence occurs until literally the end of the movie. As the movie carries on, the viewers begin to realize that Killmonger is trying to carry out his father’s goal of a African armed revolution against oppressors but is eventually prevented by The Black Panther and C.I.A agent Ross shooting down aircrafts with weapons being delivered to Africans in the diaspora. Furthermore, viewers come to another realization that the villain Killmonger is the revolutionary not the Black Panther who was a revolutionary in the original comics and Hudlin’s animated BET series. In one scene, Killmonger attempts to persuade The Black Panther to use Wakanda resources to free Africans in the diaspora but The Black Panther denies Killmonger’s request and later murders him. During this scene when The Black Panther murders his cousin, Killmonger, Killmonger states “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, because they knew death was better than bondage”.

In relation to the scene of Killmonger attempting to persuade The Black Panther to use the resources of Wakanda to liberate the masses of Africans on the continent and the diaspora, I want us to focus our attention to a another quote from, Kwame Nkrumah, “We have to be able to develop our great resources of Africa fully for the well-being of African people as a whole (Nkrumah, Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah). In the final scene of the movie, The Black Panther travels to Oakland, California to the apartment building where his father, T’Chaka killed his uncle, N’Jobu, to purchase the building and transform it to a STEM foundation for black inner-city youth. Are you kidding me? The richest superhero in comic book history who is worth well over a trillion dollars kills his cousin who wanted to create a African revolution with Africans in the diaspora decides to build a STEM facility in Oakland, California, the birthplace and home of the real Black Panthers, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. In the bonus scene after the credits, The Black Panther gives a speech at the United Nations declaring that Wakanda will share its resources with the world while agent Ross was smiling. Also, please do not forget that this movie was release on February 16th, a day before Huey P. Newton’s birthday on February 17th. To add insult to injury, during the scene when T’Chaka murder’s his brother in his apartment in Oakland, the viewer will see a poster of Huey P. Newton in the background on the wall of N’Jobu’s apartment.

In conclusion, overall this Marvel Black Panther movie produced by the racist cartoonist, Walt Disney’s company named after him, Disney, was a counter-revolutionary film. I suggest Black Panther fans to stick with the comics and animated series. Furthermore, if readers and Black Panther fans of African ancestry want to bring about a real Wakanda in Africa, we must organize, unify and free Africa from colonialist like Klaue, Imperialist Western European nations and Neo-Colonialist puppets. In order for a real Wakanda to exist in Africa as a whole, us as Africans must create a union of African states on the continent, eliminate artificial boundaries in Africa that were created by imperial powers and finally as Kwame Nkrumah stated “If we do not formulate plans for unity and take active steps to form political union, we will soon be fighting and warring among ourselves with imperialist and colonialist standing behind the scenes and pulling vicious wires, to make us cut each other’s throats for the sake of their diabolical purposes in Africa (Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah). This is what the Marvel Universe and Disney Company did with our beloved African superhero movie and also what the COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) did with the real revolutionary organization group known as the Black Panther Party. We must unite and organize to bring about a real Wakanda in Africa.
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Sources:
https://adeptpress.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/the-black-panthers-the-coal-tiger-and-us/
http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/02/01/wesley-snipes-opens-couldnt-get-black-panther-made-1990s/
http://atlantablackstar.com/2018/01/31/lupita-nyongo-hopes-black-panther-will-help-many-envision-
africa-look-like-never-colonized/

http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/
https://libyadiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/46691356-axioms-kwame-nkrumah.pdf
http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Panther_Vol_4_8
www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Movies/06/03/xmen.legacy.go/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtTjpOZEccs
Class Struggle in Africa, Nkrumah, Kwame
New African Magazine: January 2017

Third Call for March on Sunday, February 25th

The Lay Coordinating Committee called for its third non-violent march on Sunday, February 25th. According to the Committee, the two previous marches on December 31, 2017 and January 21, 2018 mobilized over 3 million people but they were violently repressed by the Kabila regime.

The central demand of the Committee is the implementation of the December 2017 agreement (Saint Sylvestre Accord in French). The Committee says that the Kabila regime's response to their demand has been bloody violence.

The Committee no longer believes in the good will of the Kabila regime. The government has rejected every window of opportunity offered  to it. The Kabila regime has demonstrated clearly that it wants to hold on to power undemocratically.


In calling for the people to stand up against the Kabila regime, the committee issued a warning to those who would:
  • stand against democracy
  • twist the words of the committee to justify violence and barbarism 
  • oppose an independent investigation into the crimes and oppose a process to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators and those who issued the orders to repress the people
  • seek to snuff out the aspirations of the Congolese people who are seeking a democratic alternative
The Lay Coordinating Committee called on the United Nations, European Union and the African Union to go beyond mere declarations in the face of the Kabila regime blocking the elections and carrying out violence against the Congolese people.

During the previous two marches, the government shut down the Internet in an effort to block images of security forces violence against the people from reaching the global media. Those of us outside the Congo, can help by amplifying the voices of those on the ground and spreading their message to the larger global community.

Click here to sign the petition to demand justice for the marchers in the Congo.