Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph-Damien Tshatshi Djamba was a

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

military officer who was assassinated by rebels at

Kisangani Kisangani (), formerly Stanleyville (), is the capital of Tshopo, Tshopo Province, located on the Congo River in the eastern part of the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's fifth-most populous urban a ...

on 23 July 1966 during the Kisangani mutiny. Tshatshi began his military career in the

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; ) was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force in the colony on L ...

under Belgian colonial rule and later trained at the

Officer Training School Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Overview Officer Training School is a part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center f ...

at Luluabourg (modern-day Kananga). He remained with the army after Congolese independence in 1960 in the re-formed Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC). He remained loyal to the government at

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

during the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...

and participated in the repression of the

Katanga secession The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...

after 1963. He was nicknamed "the terrible" (''le terrible''). A loyalist to

Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

, he was a signatory to the proclamation of the Second Republic on 24 November 1965. At the time of his death, he commanded the 5th Mechanised Brigade (''5^e Brigade mécanisée'') and was serving as Republican Commissioner (''commissaire de la République'') for the Provinces of

Haut-Congo Haut-Congo Province was a province of the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formed in April 1962 from part of the Orientale Province. In 1966 it was merged back into the reconstituted Orientale ...

, Kibali-Ituri, and Uélé. Tshatshi was killed during an uprising among former Katangese soldiers near

on 23 July 1966. The mutiny was apparently sparked by rumours that the former Katangese leader

Moïse Tshombe Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé; 10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of ...

would return to the country from exile, and was only repressed by force in September. In the aftermath of the killing, "Colonel Tshatshi" was celebrated as a hero by the Mobutu regime. A large military installation at

Ngaliema Ngaliema is a municipality ('' commune'') in the Lukunga District of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location Ngaliema is situated in the west of Kinshasa. It stretches south towards Mont Ngaliema and along t ...

in Léopoldville was renamed the

Colonel Tshatshi Military Camp The Colonel Tshatshi Military Camp () is a military compound in Ngaliema, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and hosts the defence de ...

. Today the camp houses the command of the

Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame ...

. In the same city, a major thoroughfare was renamed Boulevard Colonel Tshatshi in his honour.

Le Grand Kallé Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele (16 December 1930 in Matadi, Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) – 11 February 1983 in Paris, France), popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, was a List of people from the Democratic Republic of t ...

dedicated his song "Paracommando" to Tshatshi's memory. In 1974 he was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Companions of the Revolution Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

by Mobutu.

References

;Sources *

External links

The assassination of Colonel Tshatshi in Kisangani
extract of unpublished manuscript of Opendo Mbula-Matari, matonge.be

c-retro-actuel.com Proclamation of the High Military Command of the Armed Forces, c-retro-actuel.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tshatshi, Joseph Damien Democratic Republic of the Congo military personnel 1966 deaths 1927 births People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo People of the Congo Crisis

References

Further reading

External links