The Central African class is in mourning: Désiré Bilal Kolingba, leader of the Central African Democratic Assembly, died at the age of 64 this Sunday, April 25, in Kinshasa, following an illness, according to his family. Former Minister for Youth and Sport during the presidency of François Bozizé, Désiré Kolingba was a candidate in two presidential elections in 2015 and in December last year.
An economist educated in the United States and Canada, Désiré Kolingba worked at the World Bank in Washington in 1988. In the Central African Republic, he is best known for taking over the Germans in the DRC, the Central African Democratic Assembly, a party founded by his father, former President André Kolingba.
It is not easy to carry such a legacy: Désiré Kolingba emphasizes the principles of freedom and the rule of law. As René Constant Ngbondo, a former travel companion, explains: “He follows the party’s ideals, that is: fundraising, understanding and the public interest. “
In a context of crisis that divides the country, Désiré Kolingba unites. Blaise Fleury Hotto, former Secretary General of the Democratic Republic of Congo: “He has never stopped reaching out to the warlords. He always thought that the crisis we had felt was not a confessional crisis, it was a societal crisis and he approached the Muslim community more than once to try to ask them to contribute to the return of peace in our country. “
In December 2015, Désiré Kolingba was the presidential candidate. He finished third and collected in the second round to the Faustin Archange Touadéra, thus taking down Anicet-Georges Dologuélé.
Désiré Kolingba was ill and in hospital for several weeks in France and had not been able to fully invest in the last presidential campaign in 2020. He intended to fight in particular against the deterioration of the living conditions of Central Africans.
His goal was democracy and the return to peace in the Central African Republic …
Anatole Ndemagouda, former campaign manager for Désiré Bilal Nzanza Kolingba
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