I was going through the older entries in this here chronicle of my adventures and found something disturbing. There is a place earlier on where I referred to the president of the DRC. I said he was Laurent kabila. Laurent. Well Colour me idiot!
The president of the DRC is not Laurent Kabila, the president is his son Joseph Kabila. Duh!
It was an easy mistake to make. Let me explain. You see, when I looked to my left to see who the new dude was that had replaced Mobutu I saw that the man was quite a spectacle: unkempt, unwashed and bedraggled like he had just arrived from the bush, yet as plump-cheeked as any hotel-dwelling Chardonnay-sipper on the Riviera.
The thing that I was most interested in, though, was his shape. It was bulky. And box-like. He looked like someone had taken a carton of head and placed it on top of a carton of body. Very clever.
But I soon returned to the more vital questions of domestic politics—what can my country do for me etc—and forgot about box-head.
Until someone mentioned in 2001 that there has been another change of president in Congo.
Who is it now?
Still Kabila, just a different one.
I was very busy channelling public funds into private accounts with my fellow Ugandans so I didn’t pay very much attention. Just a quick glance, noticed that this fellow’s shape was not as amusing as his father’s, and back to work, immediately forgetting about him.
So when, after so long without thinking of a Kabila, I am called upon to speak on the subject, and I mention Laurent, where I mean to say Joseph, please forgive me. It is not my fault.
It’s just that Joseph’s head is the wrong shape.
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