Three Americans involved in the weekend’s brazen attack on Congo’s presidential palace have formed an unlikely band under the leadership of eccentric opposition figure Christian Malanga. He dabbled in gold mining, used automobiles, and later persuaded his Utah-born son to join him in the failed coup, authorities said. Description of events by those involved.
Six people were killed, including Malanga, and dozens of people, including three Americans, were arrested in connection with the attack and the attack on the residence of Brigadier General John, the Congolese military spokesman and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. It was done. General Sylvain Ekenzie said.
A look back at the assassinations and attempts of high-profile politicians of this century
Ekenge said Malanga was killed in a shootout with members of the presidential security early Sunday. He said the situation was “under control.”
Congolese security forces guard the streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sunday, May 19, 2024, after a gunfight erupts and the Congolese army says it has “stopped a coup” and arrested the perpetrators. Six people were killed in a brazen attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The capital Kinshasa on Sunday. Four attackers, including two bodyguards of a close ally of the Congolese president and their leader, were killed, Congolese military spokesman Brigadier General John Brigg said. General Sylvain Ekenzie told The Associated Press on Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Sammy Ntumba Shambui)
Authorities said they were trying to uncover how Malanga’s 21-year-old son, Marcel, allegedly tried to usurp the leadership of one of Africa’s largest countries from a high school soccer player.
“My son is innocent,” his mother, Brittney Sawyer, wrote in an email to The Associated Press, without providing further details.
Sawyer regularly posts proud family photos on social media, including one in December of Marcel, her baby sister, and their toddler hugging each other in matching Christmas pajamas. In 2020, she posted photos of Marcel lifting weights and dancing during the coronavirus lockdown.
In a Facebook post early Monday morning, Sawyer angrily wrote that her son was following his father. “This child was an innocent boy who followed his father. I’m tired of the videos being posted all over the place and sent to me. God will take care of you!”
A video circulating on social media shows her son next to a bloodied white man, whose identity is unknown, both covered in dust and surrounded by Congolese soldiers. Marcel has his hands up and a frightened look on his face.
Recent videos Marcel posted to Facebook and TikTok show him posing with stacks of dollar bills and talking about women, a far cry from that persona.
On his website, his father, Malanga, described himself as a refugee who had prospered since settling in the United States with his family in the 1990s. He said he had become Congo’s opposition leader and had met with senior officials in Washington and the Vatican. He also described himself as a devoted husband and father of eight children.
Court records and interviews paint a different picture.
In 2001, when he turned 18, Malanga was convicted of assault with a firearm in Utah and sentenced to 30 days in prison, suspended for three years. That same year, he was charged with domestic violence assault in one case and assault and breach of peace in another, but he pleaded not guilty and all charges in both cases were dismissed.
In 2004, he was charged with domestic violence and threatening to use a dangerous weapon, but he pleaded not guilty and the charges were dismissed. Since 2004, several cases related to custody disputes and child support disputes have come on record. It is unclear whether Sawyer was involved in the conflict.
Malanga’s relatives gathered Monday afternoon at the home of his mother, Chantal Malanga, in West Jordan to pay their respects. Her friends came one after another with food and condolences.
Christian Malanga’s cousin, Sidney, who answered the door, told The Associated Press that his family was “heartbroken” and “very raw” after learning of his death. She said she is discussing the possibility of a funeral in Utah, but did not provide further details.
Malanga described himself as an organizer for the United Congo Party. The party is a movement aimed at organizing immigrants like him against “the current Congolese authoritarian government system.” He also described himself as the president of the “New Zaire” government in exile and released a manifesto detailing plans to create business opportunities and reform Congo’s security services.
Photos posted on Facebook and his website show him meeting with U.S. politicians of the day, including former Utah Congressman Rob Bishop and New York Congressman Peter King. .
Bishop told the AP that he did not remember the meeting and did not know when the photo was taken. Mr. King could not be reached for comment.
Dino Mahtani, an independent researcher on African issues, said he first heard about Malanga in 2018 when he was working as a UN political adviser in Congo. He said Congolese authorities had expressed suspicions that Malanga was involved in an alleged plot to kill then-President Joseph Kabila.
Mr. Mahtani said in an interview that although he had never met Mr. Malanga in person, he believed Mr. Malanga was obsessed with seizing some form of power in Congo.
He also suggested that Malanga may have been trapped or betrayed, given the incredible way in which the weekend attack was carried out.
“Someone set this up on him. It could be an outside plotter, but given Tiskedi’s previous close relationship with at least one of the current military commanders, it’s possible this plot was known inside.” That allowed them to act quickly,” Mahtani said. .
The alleged coup attempt began at the Kinshasa residence of Vital Kamerhe, a member of parliament and a candidate for president of the Congolese parliament. Officials said his security guard killed the attacker.
Meanwhile, Malanga was live-streaming footage from the presidential palace of him wandering around in the middle of the night, surrounded by several people in military uniform. Congolese authorities say he was killed while resisting arrest.
Congolese authorities have not commented on how the attackers were able to get inside.
“It’s really hard to imagine how 20 or 30 men thought they could take over the Congolese state by storming an empty presidential palace at 4 o’clock in the morning,” Mahtani said. Told.
The second American allegedly involved was identified as Benjamin Ruben Zalman Polan, according to images of a U.S. passport circulated by Congolese media. He graduated from the University of Colorado and attended business administration classes at Georgetown University, according to court records. Records show he later started a commodity trading business and worked as a courier and Uber driver.
His connection to Malanga appears to be through a gold mining company he set up in Mozambique in 2022, according to reports in the Mozambican government’s Official Gazette and the Africa Information Agency newsletter.
Zalman Polun pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in the United States in 2015, admitting that he conspired with a friend to ship more than 20 kilograms of marijuana from his home base in Lake Tahoe, California, to customers across the United States. Prosecutors argued that he had provided “significant cooperation” to the investigation and asked for leniency.
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Attorneys in the case did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Information about the third American has not been released.
The US Embassy in Kinshasa said in a statement that it was aware that “American citizens may have been involved in Sunday’s incident” and would cooperate with authorities “as they investigate these violent criminal acts.” added.
