Mobutu's Game

Mobutu's rise began in the shadow of Patrice Lumumba, the figurehead of the Congolese independence movement and the country's first prime minister. When Lumumba became an enemy of the West, Mobutu saw an opportunity for himself.

Thirty-two years of atrocities, the complicity of the West and tens of thousands of deaths in the Congo: this documentary series examines the reign of one of the most notorious dictators of the Cold War in Africa, Mobuto Sese Seko.

The economic boom of the early years of Mobutu's rule is soon followed by a crisis - partly due to corruption. The dictator retreats to his luxury residence far from Kinshasa, while the Congolese people suffer. Mobutu’s secret service installs a climate of fear throughout the country, and once again Western forces rush to his aid.

With the end of the Cold War, Mobutu loses his role as a bulwark against communism and Western nations are waiting for an opportunity to get rid of him. At the same time, his ill health shows his growing vulnerability as his rule hangs by a thread.