Mbandaka
Ville de Mbandaka
Mbandaka Location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 0°04′N 18°16′E / 0.067°N 18.267°E / 0.067; 18.267Coordinates: 0°04′N 18°16′E / 0.067°N 18.267°E / 0.067; 18.267
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province	Équateur Province
Area[1]
• Total	600 km2 (200 sq mi)
Population (2004)[1]
• Total	729,257
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)

Mbandaka, formerly known as Coquilhatville or Coquilhatstad (named after Camille-Aimé Coquilhat), is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki Rivers.

Geography[link]

Mbandaka lies on the east side of the Congo River below the mouth of the Tshuapa River, a tributary of the Congo. It is south of the Ngiri Reserve on the opposite bank of the Congo, a large area of swamp forest, and is at the center of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe Ramsar wetland.^[2] Mbandaka is the capital of the Équateur province, and located only a few miles from the equator. It is home to an airport and is linked by ferry to Kinshasa and Boende. The city's population is approximately 729,257 (2004).

Mbandaka is largely populated by people of the Mongo ethnic group, although people from many different regions live in the city. The main languages spoken in Mbandaka are Lingala, French and Mongo.

Years of war and neglect have taken a heavy toll on the city infrastructure, with no electricity or running water in large sectors of the city. Most of the streets and avenues of the city are dirt roads.

Commercial centre of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2008

Banque du Congo belge, Mbandaka

History[link]

Mbandaka was founded in 1883 by Henry Morton Stanley with the name of "Équateur". In fact the Town Hall is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the Geographic Equator Line, and Mbandaka is indeed one of the closest of any substantial city in the world. Stanley placed a large "Equator Stone" near the river bank south of the city to mark the point where he believed the Equator to cross the river. It remains there today. Due to its symbolic location close to the equator and the Congo River there were early plans to locate the capital of the Congo Free State in Mbandaka. Although plans were made they were never realized and thus remained solely on the drawing board. These plans included an infrastructure for an estimated population of 100,000 people, a train station, a Catholic cathedral, a governors residence and a palace for future visits of Leopold II.^[4]

In 1886, at the beginning of their colonial rule, the Belgians changed the city's name to "Coquilhatville".

During the colonial time in 1938 works started on a bridge over the Congo River connecting Mbandaka with the French Congo. Work was abandoned at the outbreak of WWII and today only the foundations of the bridge pillars remain. In the 1930s several other projects were started by the Belgian colonial administration, including several factories and a new city hall. The city hall was completed only after the war in 1947 and was at that time, with a height of 39 meters, the tallest building in the Belgian Congo. On top of the city hall was a statue of Leopold II. The city hall was destroyed by a fire in 1963.^[5]

In 1966 the name was changed once again, this time by the new independent government, to "Mbandaka" to honor a prominent local leader.

Hundreds of people (mainly Hutu refugees, women and children) in the city were massacred on May 13, 1997 near the end of the First Congo War.

Notable places[link]

Catholic Mission station and Central African history research centre of Bamanya[link]

A large research center for Central African history, originally set up by Fathers Gustaaf Hulstaert (1900–1990) and Honoré Vinck, is at the Catholic Mission station of Bamanya (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC)), 10 kilometres east of Mbandaka.^[6]

Botanic Garden of Eala[link]

One of the finest botanical gardens representing central Africa is at nearby Eala, about 7 km east of the town centre. The Botanic Garden of Eala (founded in 1900) contains the floral richness of Central Africa with between 4,000 and 5,000 species. It covers approximately 370 hectares with special collections (125 ha), forest (190 ha), marsh (50 ha) and savanna "Euobe" (7 ha). The garden is neglected and unfenced and there is illegal logging. The last catalogue was published in 1924.

First Habitat for Humanity International housing project[link]

Mbandaka is the home of the world's first project of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat for Humanity's founder Millard Fuller served as missionary with the Disciples of Christ Church in Mbandaka from 1973-76. The housing project Fuller started in Mbandaka in 1973 became the original project of Habitat for Humanity when Fuller founded Habitat upon his return to the United States.

Climate[link]

The city is located at the center of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe area, designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 2008.^[7] Mbandaka features a tropical rainforest climate under Koppen's climate classification. The city does feature wetter and drier months, with the driest month, January averaging around 80 mm of precipitation per year. However the city does not have a dry season, all months average above 60 mm of precipitation in a year. Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, with average temperatures ranging from 23-26 degrees Celsius during the course of the year.

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Botanical Gardens of Zaire and the Present State of Biodiversity in Zaire
• "Villes de RD Congo - Mbandaka" (in French). MONUC. 2006-05-29. http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=11221. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 

Henry Jackson Thomas, Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in more than 40 films and is best known for his role as Elliott in the 1982 Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Early life[link]

Thomas was born an only child in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Carolyn L. (née Davis), a homemaker, and Henry Jackson Thomas, a hydraulic machinist.^[1] In San Antonio he attended East Central High School, in the ECISD district, and Blinn College in Bryan, Texas.^[2]

Career[link]

Acting career[link]

Shortly after his appearance in E.T., Thomas also made some appearances in commercials for the Intellivision console by Mattel, alongside George Plimpton,^[3] whom he always referred to as "Mr. Intellivision". In all these commercials, Plimpton always asked what Thomas's name is, but is never mentioned. According to Intellivision Products, Inc., Atari threatened to sue Mattel if Thomas was identified in the commercials, since Atari was securing the rights for the Atari 2600 E.T. video game at the time.

After E.T., Thomas returned to Texas, occasionally acting in film and on TV while attending school.

Thomas returned to film in the late 1980s and early 1990s and began to prove himself in adult roles, most notably as the younger version of Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates character in Psycho IV: The Beginning. His most prominent adult role to date was as Samuel Ludlow in 1994's Legends of the Fall. He is currently both an actor and musician. He starred in the 2011 film The Last Ride, in the lead role as Hank Williams Sr..

Music[link]

Thomas wrote songs, sang, and played guitar for the San Antonio, Texas band The Blue Heelers from the mid to late '90s. Although the band was never signed to a record label, their self-produced album Twister was warmly received and enjoyed statewide radio play. Moving to Los Angeles in 1998, the band dissolved, but Thomas continued to write and record songs. In 1998, his song "Truckstop Coffee" (recorded with the Blue Heelers) appeared on V2's soundtrack to the film Niagara, Niagara in which Henry Thomas also acted. In 2003, Thomas worked with Nikki Sudden on the music for Mika Kaurismaki's film Honey Baby which featured four original songs written and performed by Thomas as the fictitious musician Tom Brackett. An album was in the works, but their collaboration was ended by Sudden's death in 2006. Thomas continues to live and play in the LA area with the band Farspeaker.

Awards and honors[link]

• VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars"
• 2005, ranked #4, E!'s "50 Cutest Child Stars All Grown-up"

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Henry Thomas on Myspace
• Henry Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Henry Thomas at Yahoo! Movies

Joseph Kabila
President of the Congo-Kinshasa
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 January 2001 Acting: 17 January 2001 – 26 January 2001
Prime Minister	Antoine Gizenga Adolphe Muzito Louis Alphonse Koyagialo (Acting) Augustin Matata Ponyo
Preceded by	Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Personal details
Born	(1971-06-04) 4 June 1971 (age 41) Fizi, Congo-Léopoldville (now Congo-Kinshasa)
Political party	People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
Spouse(s)	Olive Lembe di Sita
Alma mater	Makerere University People's Liberation Army National Defense University

Joseph Kabila Kabange (known commonly as Joseph Kabila, born June 4, 1971) is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. He was elected as President in 2006. In 2011, he was re-elected for a second term.

Biography[link]

Early life and education[link]

Joseph Kabila Kabange was born on June 4, 1971 at Hewabora, a small village in the Fizi territory of the South Kivu province, in Eastern Congo. He is the son of long time rebel, former AFDL leader and president of the Congo Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Sifa Mahanya.

Guerrilla and army years[link]

Following high school, Joseph Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime. Joseph became the commander of the infamous army of "kadogos" (child soldiers) and played a key role in major battles on the road to Kinshasa. The liberation army received logistical and military support from regional armies from Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe. Following the AFDL's victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get further training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing, China.

When he returned from China, Kabila was awarded the rank of Major-General, and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1998. He was later, in 2000, appointed Chief of Staff of the Land Forces, a position he held until the elder President Kabila's assassination in January 2001.^[1] As chief of staff, he was one of the main military leaders in charge of Government troops during the time of the Second Congo War (1998–2003).

Presidency[link]

Joseph Kabila rose to the Presidency on 26 January 2001 after the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, becoming the world's first head of government born in the 1970s. He remained the world's youngest head of government until Roosevelt Skerrit became Prime Minister of Dominica in January 2004.^[2]

At age 30, he was considered young and inexperienced. He subsequently attempted to end the ongoing civil war by negotiating peace agreements with rebel groups who were backed by Rwanda and Uganda, the same regional armies who brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebel group to power 3 years before. The 2002 peace agreement signed at the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Sun City, South Africa, which nominally ended the Second Congo War, maintained Joseph Kabila as President and head of state of the Congo. An interim administration was set up under him, including the leaders of the country's two main rebel groups as vice-presidents (two other vice-presidents were representatives of the civilian opposition and government supporters respectively).

Kabila in 2002, with Thabo Mbeki, George W. Bush, and Paul Kagame

On March 28, 2003, an apparent coup attempt or mutiny around the capital Kinshasa, allegedly on the part of members of the former guard of former president Mobutu Sese Seko (who had been ousted by Kabila's father in 1997 and died in the same year), failed.^[3] On June 11, 2004, coup plotters led by Major Eric Lenge allegedly attempted to take power and announced on state radio that the transitional government was suspended, but were defeated by loyalist troops.^[4][5]

In December 2005, a partial referendum approved a new constitution, and a presidential election was held on July 30, 2006 (having been delayed from an earlier date in June).^[6] The new constitution lowered the minimum age of presidential candidates from 35 to 30; Kabila turned 35 shortly before the election. In March 2006, he registered as a candidate.^[7] Although Kabila registered as an independent, he is the "initiator" of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD), which chose him as their candidate to the election. Although the new constitution stipulates that a debate be held between the two remaining candidates for the presidency, no debates took place and this was declared by many as unconstitutional.

According to widely disputed provisional results announced on August 20, Kabila won 45% of the vote; his main opponent, vice-president and former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won 20%. The irregularities surrounding the elections results prompted ^[8] a run-off vote between Kabila and Bemba which was held on October 29. On November 15, the electoral commission announced the official results and Kabila was declared the winner, with 58.05% of the vote.^[9] These results were confirmed by the Supreme Court on November 27, 2006, and Kabila was inaugurated on December 6, 2006 as the country's newly elected President.^[10] He named Antoine Gizenga, who placed third in the first round of the presidential election (and then backed Kabila in the second round) as prime minister on December 30.^[11]

In December 2011, Kabila was re-elected for a second term as president. After the results were announced on 9 December, there was violent unrest in Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi, where official tallies showed that a strong majority had voted for the opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi.^[12] Official observers from the Carter Center reported that returns from almost 2,000 polling stations in areas where support for Tshisekedi was strong had been lost and not included in the official results. They described the election as lacking credibility.^[13] On 20 December, Kabila was sworn in for a second term, promising to invest in infrastructure and public services. However, Tshisekedi maintained that the result of the election was illegitimate and said that he intended also to "swear himself in" as president.^[14]

In January 2012, Catholic Bishops in DR Congo also condemned the elections, complaining of "treachery, lies and terror", and calling on the election commission to correct "serious errors".^[15]

Views[link]

In 2006, Kabila responded to evidence of widespread sex crimes committed by the Congolese military by describing the acts as "simply unforgivable". He pointed out that 300 soldiers had been convicted of sex crimes, although he added that this was not enough.^[16]

Wedding[link]

On June 1, 2006, after many wedding rumors were fueled by many in top positions in the country, the head of the Presidential Household, Ambassador Theodore Mugalu officially announced the wedding of the President to Olive Lembe di Sita. The wedding ceremonies took place on June 17, 2006.^[17] Kabila and his spouse have a daughter, born in 2001, named Sifa after Kabila's mother.

As President Kabila is Anglican, and Ms Lembe di Sita is Catholic, the wedding ceremonies were ecumenical, and were therefore officiated by both the Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Frederic Etsou Bamungwabi, and Pierre Marini Bodho – Presiding Bishop of the Church of Christ in Congo, the umbrella church for most denominations in the Congo, known within the country simply as "The Protestant Church".

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Joseph Kabila on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Joseph Kabila, The Untold Story
• Rape in the DRC
• BBC Country Profile
• Official website of the President of the DRC
• Joseph Kabila 2011 campaign site
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - Permanent Mission to the United Nations
• DR Congo presidential candidates face off in second round Jane's Intelligence Watch Report, 22 August 2006
• For Congo’s Leader, Middling Reviews by Jeffrey Gettleman, The New York Times, April 4, 2009

v t e Candidates in the 2011 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election Jean Andeka Adam Bombolé Joseph Kabila François Nicéphore Kakese Vital Kamerhe Oscar Kashala Léon Kengo Antipas Mbusa Nzanga Mobutu Josué Alex Mukendi Étienne Tshisekedi

v t e Candidates in the 2006 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election Jean-Pierre Bemba Antoine Gizenga Joseph Kabila Nzanga Mobutu Oscar Kashala Azarias Ruberwa Pierre Pay-Pay wa Syakasighe Vincent de Paul Lunda-Bululu Joseph Olenghankoy Mukundji Pierre Anatole Matusila Malungenine Kongo Antipas Mbusa Bernard Emmanuel Kabatu Suila Eugène Diomi Ndongala Banyingela Kasonga Jean Marinaque Alou Bonioma Kalokola Gérard Kamanda wa Kamanda Norbert Likulia Bolongo Roger Lumbala Guy-Patrice Lumumba Christophe Mboso N'Kodia Pwanga Alafuele Mbuyi Kalala Hassan Thassinda Uba Thassinda Florentin Mokonda Bonza Timothée Moleka Nzulama Justine Mpoyo Kasa-Vubu Jonas Mukamba Kadiata Nzemba Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo Osée Muyima Ndjoko Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma Jacob Niemba Souga Marie-Thérèse Nlandu Mpolo Nene Wivine N'Landu Kavidi Cathérine Marthe Nzuzi wa Mbombo

v t e President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (list) Republic of the Congo (1960–1971) Joseph Kasa-Vubu • Antoine Gizenga (rebel) Republic of Zaire (1971–1997) Joseph Mobutu/Mobutu Sese Seko Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997–present) Laurent-Désiré Kabila • Joseph Kabila

David Victor Emmanuel (10 February 1963 – 15 March 2011),^[1] better known as Smiley Culture, was a British reggae singer and deejay known for his 'fast chat' style. During a relatively brief period of fame and success, he produced two of the most critically acclaimed reggae singles of the 1980s.^[2] He died on 15 March 2011, aged 48, during a police raid on his home.

Biography[link]

Emmanuel, born in 1963 and raised in Stockwell, South London, was a son of a Jamaican father and Guyanese mother.^[1][3] He was educated at Tulse Hill School.^[4] His 'Smiley' nickname was gained due to his method of chatting up girls at school – he would ask them for a smile.^[3] Prior to his recording career he worked as a DJ with many of London's reggae sound systems, most often with the Saxon Studio International system, where he met and worked with a number of other reggae artists, including Maxi Priest, Papa Levi and Tippa Irie.^[3][5]

Signed to the London based reggae record label, Fashion Records, his first single "Cockney Translation" (1984) was a Jamaican's guide to the East End dialect – "Cockneys have names like Terry, Arfur and Del Boy/We have names like Winston, Lloyd and Leroy." The song mixed cockney dialect with London's version of Jamaican patois, translating between the two.^[6][7] Simon Reynolds has often cited this song in his writings, arguing that it presaged the creation of a new hybrid accent in which white East Londoners would adopt many terms of black origin. The song's lyric was later used in schools as an example of how immigration has affected the English language.^[3] Smiley Culture popularized the 'fast chat' style of deejaying that had originated with Jamaican deejays such as Ranking Joe, and was developed further by British toasters, particularly those on the Saxon sound system such as Peter King.^[8]

Emmanuel had chart success with his next single, "Police Officer", released towards the end of 1984. This was the supposedly autobiographical tale of how Emmanuel was arrested for the possession of cannabis, but then let off in return for an autograph when the police officer recognised him as a famous reggae artist.^[9] In spite of the subject matter – and possibly because mid 1980s radio station bosses in the UK did not understand the terms "ganja" and "sensimilla" – the single was a Top 20 hit, selling 160,000 copies, and earned Emmanuel two appearances on BBC Television's flagship music programme, Top of the Pops.^[1][3] The record, although humorous, did have a serious aspect, in that it highlighted the way black people believe they are unfairly treated by the police.^[10] He recorded a session for Janice Long's BBC Radio 1 show in December 1984,^[11] and was featured on the covers of Echoes, Record Mirror, and the NME in early 1985. The success of "Police Officer" prompted a re-release of "Cockney Translation". It picked up considerable airplay on BBC Radio One and sold over 40,000 copies in total, but only reached the lower end of the UK Singles Chart.^[3] His success led to an appearance at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in Jamaica in 1985.^[12]

After this he signed to major label Polydor, but his work for them – including the album Tongue in Cheek, and the accompanying single "Schooltime Chronicle" – did not replicate the chart success of "Police Officer". He also hosted the Channel 4 television show Club Mix in 1986 and 1987.^[3]

In 1986, Emmanuel made a cameo appearance in the film Absolute Beginners.^[3] He also featured in a television advertising campaign for 'online' accounts by the National Westminster Bank in 1986.^[13]

Smiley Culture has been identified as a major influence by later black British musicians such as DJ Luck and MC Neat, and Roots Manuva, the latter describing him as a "Britrap pioneer".^[14][15] "Cockney Translation" was one of the choices of novelist and poet Michael Rosen when he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

In 2010, Emmanuel told The Guardian that after his career in music he began investing in diamond mining, and by 2010 had gold and diamond mine concessions in several countries including Ghana, Uganda, Liberia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[16]

Arrest[link]

After being arrested in July 2010, he was charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine, and on 28 September he appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court in London.^[17] His trial was due to begin on 21 March 2011.^[18]

Death[link]

Wikinews has related news: Reggae singer Smiley Culture dies during police raid in Surrey, England

On 15 March 2011, Emmanuel died, from a stab wound police say was self-inflicted, while the police were searching his house in Hillbury Road,^[19] Warlingham, Surrey, an hour and a half after officers arrived with a search warrant.^[20][21][22] A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died from a single stab wound to the heart.^[22] He is survived by his mother, son, daughter, sister and three brothers.^[1]

His death was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. In their final report - which was neither made public nor made available to Emmanuel's family - the IPCC concluded that there was no evidence justifying the pressing of criminal charges against any of the four officers present at the house during the raid. Nonetheless, the report also pointed out flaws in the police raid and called on the MPS to improve the planning and execution of their drug seizures. However, Smiley's family raised concerns about the investigation, claiming that the IPCC “had let [them] down” and that many “unanswered questions” remained.^[23] The conditions surrounding his death and the subsequent investigation were also questioned by members of the general public, his death often being considered in the context of police brutality and other black people dying police custody.^[24][25] A study into the causes and consequences of the 2011 England riots, led by the London School of Economics in collaboration with the British newspaper The Guardian, identified Emmanuel's death, perceived by some as a prominent case of police abuse, as a contributing factor to the riots.^[26]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Tongue in Cheek (1986), Polydor
• The Original Smiley Culture (1986), Top Notch

Singles[link]

• "Cockney Translation" (1984), Arthur Daley International/Fashion
• "Police Officer" (1984), Fashion - UK #12
• "Cockney Translation" (re-issue) (1985), Fashion - UK #71^[27]
• "Schooltime Chronicle" (1986), Polydor - UK #59^[28]
• "Mr. Kidnapper" (1986), Polydor
• "So What" (1986), Boiling Point - promo only
• "Noff Personality" (1986), Culture
• "TV Lover", Senator
• "Can't Stop the Rap" (1990), SBK/Capitol

See also[link]

• List of reggae musicians
• List of Polydor Records artists
• List of performers on Top of the Pops

References[link]