The Irresistible Rise of Moïse Katumbi

Meet Moïse Katumbi, big-time entrepreneur and director of the Tout Puissant Mazembe soccer team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is also the governor of Katanga, a province whose huge mineral wealth, totaling 80 percent of the nation’s resources, is of huge importance to the country’s economy. Katumbi’s political "program" consists primarily of making big promises and bestowing countless gifts and favors on people and organizations to further his popularity. This approach has allowed him to build a personality cult in good Congolese tradition. The film crew accompanies him on working visits where he is cheered by employees who are invariably underpaid and do dangerous and unhealthy jobs without any form of labor protection. We also hear from journalists about his intimate business relationships with foreign investors who have their eyes set on Katanga’s mineral wealth but have no interest in improving working conditions. Although Katumbi’s duplicity inevitably causes disappointment among his supporters, he repeatedly manages to mobilize the support of the poorly educated rural population. These are instructive insights into the workings of populism, and a glimpse of DR Congo’s future, which will surely have a place for Katumbi.