Jean-Dominique Okemba

Congo
Sassou deftly pairs inner circle with cabinet members

The president's cabinet reshuffle has done little to rock the boat of his prime minister Anatole Collinet Makosso or of his own entourage. Only his finance minister, Rigobert Foger Andely, has had to say goodbye.

Palace Intrigues
Nicolas Sarkozy, Teodorin Obiang, François Beya and Thomas Boni Yayi

Intrigues big and small. Every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Congo/France Denis Sassou Nguesso invites Sarkozy to stay

Equatorial Guinea VP Teodorin Obiang holidays in Lisbon

Congo/DRC François Beya looked after by JDO

Benin/Guinea Thomas Boni Yayi enlists daughter in mediation

DRC
Beya arrest sparks unease from Washington to Kigali

The fate of Felix Tshisekedi's former senior security adviser François Beya, who was arrested and has been detained for nearly 100 days, continues to worry governments on the continent and further afield, who have sent their envoys to Kinshasa to enquire about the former spymaster.

Congo
Congo's Masonic lodges fall under control of securocrats

Two of the three main lodges in Congo are now headed by the powerful securocrats Jean-Dominique Okemba and Philippe Obara.

Congo
Sassou loyalist Athanase Ngassaki appointed Banque congolaise de l'habitat chairman

Athanase Ngassaki, who advises the Congolese president on economic issues, has been been parachuted into the top job at the Banque congolaise de l'habitat, one of the country's two state-owned banks.

Chad, Congo
Congo's Freemasons shaken by Idriss Déby's death

Denis Sassou Nguesso introduced Idriss Déby to the Freemasons in the early 2000s, making him the first Deputy Grand Master (DGM) of the Grande loge du Congo (GLC).

Congo
No 20th birthday party for the DGRE

The DGRE external intelligence service, which was set up by President Denis Sassou Nguesso in 2001, was formally shut down by General Hilaire Moko, Sassou's nephew.

Inner circles | Congo
How Denis Gokana became Nguesso's unchallenged oil supremo

Denis Gokana, adviser to Denis Sassou Nguesso on oil matters, has succeeded in building powerful contact networks, enabling him to eclipse the exploration and production competition.

Congo
Ambitions clash in Sassou Nguesso's entourage amid coronavirus crisis

The pandemic has provoked tensions even in the president's stronghold and has emboldened those eyeing the post-Sassou era.

Congo
Cédric Ondaye-Ebauh and Ingrid Olga Ebouka-Babackas neck and neck for top finance post

Following the conference of the Parti congolais du travail (PCT) [...]

Congo
War of the cousins around Denis Sassou Nguesso

Holed up in his native stronghold of Oyo in the [...]