Latest Kinshasa News
Boxing dreams live on in Congo's grassroots clubs 50 years after the 'Rumble in the Jungle'
GOMA, Congo (AP) — A punch crunches into the side of Daniella Muleketsi’s face. She grimaces at the sting of it and the crowd holds its breath in fear for their homegrown boxing hope. It is the 20-year-old Muleketsi’s first professional fight and it's in her hometown of Goma...
50 years after Ali fought Foreman in Congo, the 'jungle' hasn’t stopped rumbling
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Alfred Mamba remembers the frenzy that gripped the soccer stadium in Zaire, now known as Congo, as the fierce heavyweight title bout unfolded through eight rounds between the underdog Muhammad Ali and the seemingly invincible George Foreman. “It was a big...
Congolese authorities launch investigations into deadly boat accidents
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congolese authorities have launched investigations into two recent deadly boat accidents, including the capsizing of an overcrowded boat on Lake Kivu on Thursday which killed at least 78 people. “These investigations will aim to clarify the circumstances of...
At least 78 people died when a boat with 278 on board capsized in eastern Congo, official says
GOMA, Congo (AP) — At least 78 people died when an overcrowded boat capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo on Thursday, a local governor said. A frantic search and rescue operation was underway hours later as many remained unaccounted for from the vessel, believed to have had 278 people on board....
Protesters in Congo call for the release of political prisoners, including 3 top opposition figures
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Hundreds protested in front of Congo's top court Wednesday to demand the release of political prisoners, including the country’s three most prominent opposition figures imprisoned on charges the opposition says are politically motivated. Felix Tshisekedi,...
Thousands of ill inmates released from Congo's main prison to ease overcrowding
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Nearly 1,700 ill inmates were released Monday from Congo’s largest prison, the minister of justice said, as part of an effort to thin out the country's overcrowded prisons. The operation took place at Makala Central Prison in the capital Kinshasa on Monday...
Congo court sentences 3 Americans and 34 others to death on coup charges
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt. The defendants, most of them Congolese but also including a Briton, Belgian and...
How 3 young Americans ended up in the middle of a coup attempt in Congo and facing the death penalty
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo, one of Africa’s largest countries, has convicted three Americans and dozens of others of taking part in a coup attempt and imposed “the harshest penalty, that of death.” The court convicted the 37 defendants, including the...
Questions swirl around attempted jailbreak in Congo as families of victims demand accountability
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Families of those killed in what authorities called an attempted jailbreak in Congo's biggest prison are demanding answers from the government as activists denounce what they say are inhumane conditions in the nation's overcrowded penitentiaries. Officials...
Attempted jailbreak at a Congo prison kills 129 people as chaos erupts with a stampede and gunshots
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — An attempted jailbreak in Congo’s main prison left 129 people dead, including some who were shot by guards and soldiers and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, authorities said Tuesday. One prominent activist put the death toll at more than 200. ...
