Equator Express 249
ferries 25, 54, 83, 190, 192, 219, 250, 259, 295–6
flamboyants 160
Foreman, George: ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing match (1974) 239, 319
Forester, C. S.: The African Queen 92, 226
see also African Queen, The (film)
Fransen, Leon 169, 175–6
Gbadolite 239
Giatros, Yani 285–7
gold mining 14, 24, 73, 334
Goma 18, 20–21
Greene, Graham: A Burnt-Out Case 314
Guevara, Ernesto ‘Che’ 86–7, 143, 186
Habyarimana, Juvénal 13
Hammarskjöld, Dag 299
Harrison, John 337
Hatton & Cookson (trading company) 337
Hélière, Marie-France 188–9
Hepburn, Katharine 92, 226, 234, 249, 264, 294
Hewa Bora (airline) 53, 55
Hickok, ‘Wild Bill’ (James) 43
Hippolite (businessman) 329–30, 339, 340
hippopotami 10, 208, 287
Hoare, Mike (‘Mad Mike’) 187, 192, 224
Congo Mercenary 187–8
Hutu refugees xvi, 13, 20–21, 226, 247
interahamwe xvi, 13, see Hutu refugees
International Criminal Court 336
International Rescue Committee (IRC) 91, 92–6, 226–7, 242, 243–4, 247
ivory trade 35, 54, 78, 82, 86, 159, 334, 344
‘Jean-Claude’ (Belgian colonialist) 72–3
John II, of Portugal 32, 34–5
John III, of Portugal 39
‘Johnny’ (businessman) 322–5
Kabambarre 97, 128, 144–5, 146–9
Kabila, Joseph 17, 24, 26, 286–7, 320–22, 344–5
Kabila, Laurent 12, 13–14, 15, 16, 17, 56, 60, 86, 321, 324, 329, 345
Kalemie (formerly Albertville) xi–xii, xiii–xiv, xv, 70, 73, 77, 83–5
administration and bureaucracy 104–6
airport 88
airstrip 78–80
as Belgian settlement 80, 83, 86, 90
cotton factory 99, 108, 138, 169
earthquake (2005) 345
eco-system 79
Hotel Du Lac 90–91
and independence 113, 140–41
International Rescue Committee house 91, 92–6
last Belgian resident 111–14
petrol supplies 97, 120
Radio Okapi 88
‘Railwaymen’s Club’ 103
UN (MONUC) base 54, 70, 71, 88, 89, 99, 100, 126, 147
uprising (1964) 91, 106–7
in World War I 92
Kamulete, Commissioner Pierre xiv, 105–6
Kaoze, Abbot Stephano 114
Kasai province 237, 242
Kasongo 97, 157
Arab slave market 167–8
and Belgian–Arab war (1892) 157–9
as Belgian centre 159–60, 165–6, 175
boom period under Mobutu 166–7
Care International 97, 99, 128, 152, 155–7, 172–3, 174–5
flamboyants 160
graveyard 168–9, 175
hospital 165, 167, 175
market 169, 171–2
mayor 161–2
Mulele Mai uprising (1960s) 161, 168, 173, 175
Muslim population 163–5
Kasongo, Fiston 103–4, 119–20, 124, 127–8, 129, 130, 131
Katanda, Bishop Masimango 192–4
Katanga province xiii, 9, 15, 26, 57–6, 58, 63–4, 98, 134, 237, 238
Kavunja, Idi 109–10, 111
Kenya: mai-mai uprising (1950s) 122
Kibombo 184–5
Kilimanjaro, Mount 78
Kilwa 343
Kindu (upper Congo) 69, 72, 157, 183, 191–2, 198
as Belgian centre 190–91, 196–7
cannibalism 189–90
Christian community 192–5, 197–8
UN (MONUC) base 71, 174, 188–9, 191, 192, 193
Uruguayan navy 202–4
Kingsolver, Barbara: The Poisonwood Bible 194, 235
Kinshasa (formerly Leopoldville) 9, 11, 12, 14–15, 16–17, 26, 62, 65, 88, 258, 259, 319, 320, 344
Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville) 190, 202, 225, 233, 250, 255, 260, 268–9, 275–6
Cathedral 251, 294
diamond industry 226, 276–7, 281
early history 282–3
Falls Hotel 259–60
foreigners 285–7
International Rescue Committee 226–7
‘L’Hôtel Pourquoi Pas?’ 264, 294
and Lumumba’s Congolese National Movement 284–5
‘Mass Lootings’ (1990s) 269–70
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 270–75
mobile phone shop 278–9
Mulele Mai rebellion (1964) 225
Palm Beach hotel 255–6, 288
Primus brewery 266
quayside and boats 250–51, 263, 264–6, 267–8, 280–82, 293–4
restaurant 277–8
rioting (2004) 269
UN (MONUC) base 268, 269, 276, 285, 287–8
Wagenia fishermen 257–8, 261
Kisangani–Ubundu road 244–8
Kivu, Lake (Congo) 20
Kombozi, Michel 243, 246, 247, 249, 250
Lady Alice (Stanley’s boat) 48, 87, 198, 201, 215, 257, 258, 327, 328, 340
Lancet, The 343–4
languages 71
KiKongo 33
KinyaMamba 164
Lingala 15, 321
Swahili xv, 15, 63, 71, 137, 164, 281, 321
Larkin, Philip: ‘Toad’ poems 22
Larson, Brian 72, 97
Lazzarato, Father Luigi 163
Lee, Tommy 91, 93–6
Leon, Father 270–74, 294
Leopold II, King of the Belgians 6, 7, 9, 14, 23, 80–82, 151, 159, 295, 331, 332
Leopoldville see Kinshasa
leprosy 113, 314
Lippens, Lieutenant 158–9, 168
Lisala 313
Littell, Blaine 106–7
Livingstone, David 5, 42, 44, 45-7, 145, 146, 147, 157, 199
Lowa 209, 213
Lualaba, River 47
Luama river 150
Lubumbashi (formerly Elisabethville) 26, 53, 54, 68–9, 184, 190
airport 59–63
assassination of Lumumba 58–9
Belgian Club 65
Cathedral 68
cobalt mining 26, 63–8, 191, 322
railway station 68, 69
show-jumping competitions 63
Lukuga River 77, 83, 95, 107, 121, 122–3, 132
Lumumba, Patrice 58–9, 284–5, 309, 319
mai-mai, the xiv–xvi, 101, 102, 125–7, 128, 130, 143, 156, 172, 226, 260
Makungu, Vermond 165–6, 167–9
malaria 113, 121, 182, 262, 275, 289, 313, 314
Malaysia 309–10
Mamba, the 164
Mamulay, Lt-Col Albert Albiti 106
Mangubu, Clement 282–4
Maniema province xiii, 102, 134, 146
ManiKongo, the see Affonso; Nzinga a Nkuwu
Marshal Mobutu suspension bridge 239, 328, 340
Matadi 9, 287, 328, 330, 331, 340
Matadi–Kinshasa road 330–32
Matata, Pierre 173–4
Matongo, Mayor Verond Ali 161–3
Matz, Jean 169, 175–6
‘Maurice’ (businessman) 319, 320, 328–9, 331
Mbandaka 287, 293, 301, 304, 314–16
MbanzaKongo 33, 36
Mbenga (tanker) 280–81, 282
Mbueta, Pascal Manday (bowman) 301–2, 306, 307
Mbuyu, Georges xvi, 100–2, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110, 120, 124–31, 214, 345
mercenaries, 1960s 23, 186–8
Messenger, James 48
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 270–75, 294
Mituku, the 224
MNC see Congolese National Movement
mobile phones 25, 251, 278–9, 324–5
Mobutu Sese Seko 122, 309
birthplace 313
brutal regime 11, 60, 161, 238–41
changes country’s name to Zaire 12
death 14
and decline in Congo’s economy 63, 166–7, 237–8, 334
and Guevara 86–7
and ‘Mass Lootings’ 269–70
name change 241
ousted by Kabila 12, 13–14, 56
as paramilitary under Belgians 241–2
Monshengo, Captain Jean Paul Mbuta 297, 301, 302, 303, 304
MONUC (UN peace-keeping mission) 24, 149, 255, 299, 343, 344
charter boats 287, 293, 294–5, 296–8, 299–306
Congo River patrol 201–4, 205–9
Kalemie base 54, 70, 71, 78–9, 88, 89, 99, 100, 126, 147
Kindu base 71, 174, 188–9, 191, 192, 193
Kisangani base 268, 269, 276, 285, 287–8
shuttle flights 54, 77, 315–16
mosquitoes 286, 302–3
Mtowa 54, 83, 107, 109–10
Mugabe, Robert 122
Mukumbo 139–43
Mulele, Pierre 161, 238–9
Mulele Mai rebellion (1964) 161, 168–9, 173, 175–6, 186–7, 224–5, 238, 272–4
Mulolwa mai-mai 126, 128, 130, 133–4
Mumumbo, Luamba 140–41
Mungereza, Jumaine 163–5
Muslims 163, 164–5
see also Arab slavers
Mutshaliko 218–20
Mwamba, Kungwa 205–6, 207
Nagant, Geneviève 111–14
Naipaul, V. S.: A Bend in the River 270, 277
Namibia 14
New York Herald 6, 42, 43, 45, 46
Nganga, Mutombo 101
Nganing (UN boat) 294–5, 298, 299–306, 309, 313–14, 315
Ngenda, Odimba 99, 102, 114–15, 120, 123, 124–5, 127–30, 132–5, 137–40, 142–4, 148–52, 175, 180, 181, 182, 186, 345
Ngenzeka 129–30
Ngogo, Simone 166–7
Nguy, Muke 135–7
Niemba 132
Nyamwaya, Tom 155–7, 169–70, 171, 172, 174, 345
Nyirangongo, Mount: eruption 20, 21
Nzaku, Prince 35
Nzinga a Nkuwu (the ManiKongo, John) 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
Nzuzi, Father Adalbert Mwehu 233, 234, 236–7, 241, 242, 243
Obila 247
O’Brien, Conor Cruise 197
To Katanga and Back 197–8
okapi 22
Oloba, Liye 218–20
ONATRA (transport company) 295
Onusumba Yemba, Adolphe 18–20, 26–7, 55, 345
palm oil 135–7, 185, 195, 309–10
pangolins 341
peace treaty (2002) 26, 28, 55, 56, 70–71, 88, 114, 260, 296, 343
petrol supplies 120, 281
Pike, Alice 48
Pilette, André: A Travers L’Afrique Équatoriale 190–91
pirogues 181–2, 201, 213, 214–15, 220–22, 227, 250, 267, 310–12
Pocock, Edward 48, 49
Pocock, Francis 48, 198, 199–200, 325–6
Ponthierville see Ubundu
Portugal/Portuguese
explorers 31–2, 34–5, 37–8, 40
slave trade 38–9
Powell, Robert 287–8, 293
Primus brewery, Kisangani 266–7
Prince Charles (ship) 205
Punch 44
pygmies xvi, 100, 108–9, 126, 131
Rabinek, Gustav Maria 151–2
railways 25, 54, 57, 68, 69, 83, 84, 92, 103, 107, 132, 183–4, 191, 205–6, 236, 248–9
rainforest, the 21–2, 137–8, 244, 245–6, 248–50, 301
RCD (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie) 18
Republic of the Congo 15
roads/road network xv, 10, 20, 54, 57, 68–9, 70, 81, 84–5, 98–9, 108, 138–9, 145, 188, 191, 244–8, 260, 330–32
Roget (driver) 330, 341
Royal Geographical Society (formerly African Association) 40, 41, 44
rubber industry 78, 111, 159, 307–8, 334
‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing match (1974) 239, 319
RVF (navigation company) 295, 306
Rwanda 14, 20, 24, 55–6, 89, 247, 269, 276
Hutu genocide of Tutsis (1994) xvi, 13, 55
Sabiti, Kabinga 149
Saidi, Oggi 258, 259, 260, 262–3, 264–8, 288–90
Sampson Low, Marston & Company 45
Sandoka (pirogue) 214–15, 221
Savimbi, Jonas 323–4
Sazali, Mohammed Yusoff (Ali) 297–8, 299–300, 302, 303, 305–6, 309–10, 312, 313, 314, 315
Sefu 158, 168
Sierra Leone 40
Simenon, Georges 163, 166
Talatala 138
slave trade
Arab see Arab slave trade
European 38–40, 78, 81
snails, African 246
Spectator, The 44
Speke, John Hanning 42
Sridar (restaurateur) 277–8
Stanley, Henry Hope 43
Stanley, Henry Morton 5–6, 54
birth and childhood 42
on both sides in American Civil War 43
employed as journalist by New York Herald 43
finds Livingstone 5, 44–5, 47
finds newspaper to commission second African trip (1874) 46–9
first sight of Congo River (1876) 109, 179–80, 181
and Leopold II 6–7, 80–81, 283, 295, 331, 333
negative image as coloniser 81, 110, 111, 332–4
rescue and entry into Boma (1877) 336–9, 341–2
road-building through Crystal Mountains (1880s) 81, 331–2
and Tippu-Tip 283
writings 54, 131, 134, 143, 147
The Exploration Diary of H. M. Stanley 169
How I Found Livingstone 45
Through the Dark Continent 54
Stanley Falls, Congo River 225, 229, 244, 257, 261–2, 293
Stanley Pool, Congo River 15, 325–6
Stanleyville see Kisangani
Tanganyika, Lake xi, 10, 33, 44, 47, 54, 77–8, 80, 82, 92, 112
Tango Four (mai-mai leader) xvi
Tanzania 78, 83, 84, 86, 120
Taylor, Murray 224–5
Tekele (motorboat) 265, 266, 267, 280
Telegraph (Stanley’s pirogue) 201, 258
tigerfish 288
timber industry 24, 334
Tippu-Tip 158, 283
tolekas see bicycle taxis
tribes, Congolese 81, 82, 239–40, 283, 334–5
BaKongo 33
Banga-Banga 70
Bantu 126
Banyamulenge 89
Batetele 159
Mamba 164
Mituku 224
pygmy xvi, 100, 108–9, 126, 131
Wagenia 201, 257–8, 261, 283
Zulu 80
Tshikapa 324–5
Tshombe, Moise 58–9
Tshopo hydroelectric power station 286, 287
Tuckey, Captain James Kingston 40–41
Tutsis xvi, 13, 20, 55–6, 73–4, 89
Ubundu (formerly Ponthierville) 202, 213, 226–7, 228–9, 233, 234, 271–2
and filming of The African Queen 226, 234
harbour 229–30
last Catholic priest 233, 234, 236–7, 240–41, 242
St Joseph’s church and drum 235–6
Uganda 13, 14, 16, 24, 110, 344
Ujiji 44
Ulindi (ship) 205
UNITA rebels 323–4
United Nations (UN)
in the Congo 189–9, 308, see MONUC
and Lumumba’s assassination 58
missions 79, 99–100, 114, 189–90, 298–9
Security Council 283–4, 298
sponsorship of peace talks 18
World Food Programme 102
United States of America 22–3, 58, 86, 238, 240, 284, 308, 324
uranium deposits 57, 66
Uruguayan Congo River patrol 201–4, 205–9
vaccinations 227, 242, 243, 247, 329
Verbeken, Wim xv–xvi
Verberne, Father Heinrich 272–3, 274
Victoria, Lake 198, 261
Victoria, Queen 45, 121, 332
Voix des Minorités, La 100, 101, 109
Vrithoff, Alexis 83
Wafula, Dieudonné 21
Wagenia, the 201, 257–8, 261, 283
Waugh, Evelyn 90, 163
Remote People 90, 96
Wilson, Father 271, 274, 275
Wilson, Lt Commander Jorge 202, 203, 207–9
Witte, Ludo de 59
World Food Programme 102
World War, First 92
Wright, Louise 194–7, 198
‘Yav’ (mining company employee) 61–3, 64
Zaire 12, 241, 242
Zambia 57, 66, 67, 83, 343
Zanzibar 41, 42, 44, 46–7, 49, 82, 137, 145, 158, 333
Zenga, Simon 265, 266
Zimbabwe 14, 66, 122, 322, 323
Zulu, the 80
Acknowledgements
Blood River taught me how the seemingly solitary process of book-writing depends on many people.
Without the bravery and generosity I encountered from strangers in the Congo, the project would have failed. Those to whom I owe a particular debt include Georges Mbuyu, Benoit Bangana, Odimba Ngenda, Bishop Masimango Katanda, Dr Adolphe Onusemba Yemba, Clement Mangubu, Oggi Saidi, Brian Larson and his Care International Colleagues, Tom Nyamwaya and Lynn Heinisch, Tommy Lee and his International Rescue Committee colleague, Andrea De Domenico, Father Leon and his fellow Missionaries from the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Michel Bonnardeaux and his colleagues from MONUC, Marie-France Hélière, Ann Barnes, Robert Powell, Commander Jorge Wilson and Lieutenant Commander Sazali Yusoff. I also owe thanks to others who cannot be named for reasons of security and whose names had to be changed in the text.
During my research I received help from many including Paul Salopek, Rae Simkin, Kate Nicholls, Jean de Dieu Wassoo, Robert Mwinyihali, Franck Meriau, Ambassador Bene M’Poko, Gaston Ntambo, Gerald Sadleir, Paul Connolly, John Loubser, Nick Alexander, James Astill and Jason Stearns.
And the long leg of the journey that began after I returned from the Congo was made possible by the love and support of Lisette and Stanley Butcher, Patrick and Marilyn Flanagan, Anthea Stephens and Stuart Huntley; the backing of kindred spirits at the Daily Telegraph; the courage of Camilla Hornby at Curtis Brown, and the skill of Rebecca Carter and Poppy Hampson at Chatto & Windus.
Finally, my eternal thanks and love to Jane for her unstinting enthusiasm and to Kit, who joined us halfway through the writing, for being such a good sleeper.
Credits:
1 Maps by Paul Simmons
2 Drawing of the Lady Alice taken from H.M. Stanley’s Through the Dark Continent, 1878, Sampson Low, Marston & Company
3 Advertisements from The Guide to South and East Africa (for the Use of Tourists, Sportsmen, Invalids and Settlers), 1915, Sampson Low, Marston & Company