In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo Cover
Podcast Mentions

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo

Michela Wrong

He was known as "the Leopard," and for the thirty-two years of his reign Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire, showed all the cunning of his namesake, seducing Western powers, buying up the opposition, and dominating his people with a devastating combination of brutality and charm. While the populat...

Podcasts 1
Quotes 2
Behind the Bastards

In her book, "In the Footsteps of Colonel Kurtz", Michelle O'Wong talks to a Belgian professor named Stingers, who claims that Congolese people have no memory of Leopold's exploitation and therefore he cannot be blamed for the modern state of the Congo.

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keep your head down, think small, look after yourself. These constituted the lessons of Leopold. The spirit once comprehensively crushed does not recover easily. For 75 years from 1885 to 1960, Congo'...

— Episode: The Congo After Leopold

Episode: The Congo After Leopold

In her book, "In the Footsteps of Colonel Kurtz", Michelle O'Wong talks to a Belgian professor named Stingers, who claims that Congolese people have no memory of Leopold's exploitation and therefore he cannot be blamed for the modern state of the Congo.

"

keep your head down, think small, look after yourself. These constituted the lessons of Leopold. The spirit once comprehensively crushed does not recover easily. For 75 years from 1885 to 1960, Congo's population had marinated in humiliation. No malevolent witch doctor could have devised a better preparation for the coming of a second great dictator.

Episode: The Congo After Leopold

The book "In the Footsteps of Colonel Kurtz" was mentioned as a source for the episode. A Belgian professor, Stingers, claimed that Congolese people didn't have any memories of Leopold's time in the Congo and therefore, Leopold couldn't be at fault for the modern state of the Congo.

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It's very much like just a frat boy who like, it's like, oh she didn't remember. She didn't remember, what's the crime? Because I roofied her so I can't be at fault because she has no memory.

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