Bukavu - Congo ’67

Danny and the Counts - Ode to the Wind In 1967, as the now President Mobutu continued to solidify control over the Congo in pursuit of his eventual dictatorship, the exiled Prime Minister and former rebel Moise Tshombe attempted to return to the Congo to rally his fellow Katangese against him. Two-hundred or so mercenaries, led by the settler-turned-mercenary Jean Schramme swapped sides, aiding the Katangese in their uprising. Which fell apart when Tshombe was arrested. Schramme decided to gather up whoever he could and hold out in the resort town of Bukavu until help could arrive, eventually deciding to turn themselves in to the Rwandan government, who refused to repatriate them to the Congo. After the uprising ended, Mobutu began a campaign against not just the Katangese, but many of the Congo’s ethnic groups he saw as disloyal, every Katangese that had taken part in the uprising and later accepted his offer of “amnesty“ was executed upon their return. Discord: www.