Martial Mathieu Kani
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Martial Mathieu Kani is 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 ...
politician and academic. A leading member of the
Rally for Democracy and Development The Rally for Democracy and Development (''Rassemblement pour la Démocratie et le Développement''; RDD) is a political party in the Republic of the Congo. It has been one of the main participants in a coalition known as the African Socialist Move ...
(RDD), he served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Minister of the Tourist Industry and Leisure from September 2009 to September 2012.


Academic and political career

Born at
Boundji Boundji is a town in the Cuvette Department of central Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democrat ...
in
Cuvette Region Cuvette is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the central part of the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette-Ouest, Likouala, Plateaux, and Sangha, and internationally, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is Owa ...
, Kani studied in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
and subsequently at the
University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...
in France. He worked as a teacher for years. From 1991 to 1992 he was a member of the Higher Council of the Republic, a body that was set up as a transitional parliament by the 1991 National Conference. At the conclusion of the transition, Kani was elected to the
National Assembly of Congo-Brazzaville The National Assembly () is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of the Republic of the Congo. It has 151 members, elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituency, constituencies. Colonial elections *1946–1947 M ...
in the 1992 parliamentary election; he was re-elected in the 1993 parliamentary election, which was held early due to a political crisis. Kani sat in the National Assembly until 1996, when he was elected as Mayor of
Owando Owando is a town and a commune located in the central Republic of the Congo lying on the Kouyou River. It is the capital of Cuvette Department and of Owando District. It is home to a market and has an airport An airport is an aerodr ...
; he served as Mayor until 1997.Désirée Hermione Ngoma
"Portrait du nouveau ministre de l'Industrie touristique et des loisirs, Martial Mathieu Kani"
''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 29 September 2009 .
In 2006, Kani became head of the department of education sciences at the
Marien Ngouabi University Marien Ngouabi University (French: ''Université Marien Ngouabi'', UMNG) is the only state-funded university in the Republic of the Congo. It is located in the nation's capital Brazzaville. History The University of Brazzaville was founded on 4 D ...
in Brazzaville. As Secretary-General of the RDD, Kani, together with
Saturnin Okabé Saturnin of Toulouse (, , , , and , , and ) was one of the ''"Apostles to the Gauls"'' sent out (probably under the direction of Pope Fabian, 236–250) during the consulate of Decius and Gratus (250–251) to Christianise Gaul after the perse ...
, led the party's work while its leader,
Joachim Yhombi-Opango Jacques Joachim Yhombi-Opango (12 January 1939 – 30 March 2020) was a Congolese politician. He was an army officer who became Congo-Brazzaville's first general and served as Head of State of the People's Republic of the Congo from 1977 to 197 ...
, was in exile. Beginning in 1997, Yhombi-Opango spent 10 years in exile before the government granted him an amnesty and he was able to return to Congo-Brazzaville. At a meeting of the RDD Steering Committee on 8 September 2007, Yhombi-Opango reassumed the leadership of the party from Kani and Okabé. On this occasion, Yhombi-Opango announced his intention to reorganize the party and improve its position on the national political scene. On 23 February 2009, the formation of an alliance between the ruling
Congolese Labour Party The Congolese Party of Labour (, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party which founded the People's Republic of the Congo. It to ...
(PCT) and the RDD, which had previously been an opposition party, was announced. The parties agreed to present a single candidate in the 2009 presidential election, and the RDD agreed to join the government if their joint candidate (presumed to be President
Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso he ...
) won the election. After Sassou Nguesso won the election, Kani was appointed to the government as Minister of the Tourist Industry and Leisure on 15 September 2009. In the July–August 2012 parliamentary election, Kani stood as the RDD candidate in the first constituency of Owando, where he faced a prominent opponent:
Gilbert Ondongo Gilbert Ondongo (born 1960"Ondongo Gilbert", ''Congo Brazzaville: Les Hommes de Pouvoir'', number 1Africa Intelligence 29 October 2002 .) is a Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician who has served in the government of Congo-Brazzaville as Mi ...
, the Minister of Finance, who stood as the PCT's candidate for the seat. Ondongo handily defeated Kani, winning the seat in the first round of voting with 75.19% of the vote. Following the election, Kani was dismissed from the government on 25 September 2012, and the RDD was no longer represented in the government. The political weakness of the RDD meant that Sassou Nguesso had nothing to gain by retaining Kani in the government. In March 2013, Yhombi-Opango decided to expel Kani and Anaclet Tsomambet from the RDD in response to a dispute within the party, and Kani then resigned. Kani subsequently became President of the
Congolese Congress for Democracy and Progress 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 ...
(CCDP). On 9 February 2016, the CCDP signed an agreement with the PCT, and Kani affirmed his party's support for Denis Sassou Nguesso's candidacy in the March 2016 presidential election.Roger Ngombé
"Vie des partis : Le PCT signe des accords de partenariat avec deux formations politiques"
ADIAC, 9 February 2016 .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kani, Martial Mathieu Living people Rally for Democracy and Development politicians Government ministers of the Republic of the Congo Members of the National Assembly (Republic of the Congo) University of Strasbourg alumni People from Cuvette Department Year of birth missing (living people)