Palais de Marbre

Palais de Marbre
Interior view
Interactive map of the Palais de Marbre area
Alternative names
Marble Palace
General information
Architectural style
Hypermodern
LocationNgaliema, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Completed
1970 (1970)
OwnerJoseph Kabila
Design and construction
ArchitectsEugène Palumbo and Fernand Tala N'Gai
Exterior view

The Marble Palace (French: Palais de Marbre) is a palace and historic building in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on a hill in the commune of Ngaliema along Avenue Ma Campagne, a few miles from Mont-Fleury. The palace is used as a guest residence for certain official visits. It is also open to the public and contains an exhibition about the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila.[1][2][3][4][5]

History

1970–late 1970s: Construction and Mobutu's takeover

The Marble Palace was first built in 1970 after Albert Ndele Bamu, Governor of the National Bank of the Congo, commissioned its construction. The palace was first planned as his official residence on the Binza hills in Ngaliema, Kinshasa. It was designed by Eugène Palumbo and Fernand Tala N'Gai, the architects who also designed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building and the Supreme Court.[6][7][8] The palace featured a hypermodern circular design that incorporated sections of the surrounding gardens and prominently featured marble imported from an Italian quarry, with a statue of a prodigious lion at its main entrance.[7][9] Because of its layout, the building was said to resemble the map of the Congo.

In September 1970, Ndele was appointed Minister of Finance, a move that was widely seen as a demotion, and he was dismissed the next year.[10][11][12] Although the National Bank (renamed the National Bank of Zaire—Banque Nationale du Zaïre—after the country's name was changed to Zaire in 1971) continued to list the palace as its property, President Mobutu Sese Seko confiscated it and converted it into one of his opulent palaces. It also became a guesthouse for important visitors,[8] including U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Alfred Kissinger during his visit in April 1976.[13][14]

Late-1990s–present: Mobutu's fall and post-Laurent-Désiré Kabila era

The historic official residence of the Congolese head of state was situated on Mont Ngaliema. This presidential compound, however, was heavily looted in 1997 after the collapse of the Mobutu regime during the First Congo War.[15][16] On 17 May 1997, troops from the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), which was composed of kadogos (child soldiers) and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) soldiers led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, entered Kinshasa. Mobutu fled to Morocco, where he died later that year.[17][18][19] After taking control of the capital, the AFDL ordered residents of state-owned apartments to leave, often giving them only 1 hour to vacate. Once Mobutu was removed from power, Kabila moved into the Marble Palace.[17][15][16]

On 16 January 2001, he was assassinated there by one of his own bodyguards.[15][16] His son and successor, Joseph Kabila, chose not to live in the palace and instead settled in a villa known as GLM. The villa was named after Jean-Joseph Litho Moboti Nzoyombo Te Awe, Mobutu's uncle, who had received the property during the Zairianization period.[17][20] According to Joseph Kabila's entourage, he later became the de facto owner of the property. However, legal claims surrounding GLM remain contested.[17] The property is jointly owned and was first registered in the name of Belgian businessman William Damseaux through his company, Congo-Frigo, before part of it was sold to Litho Moboti.[17] Legal representatives of the Moboti family argue that Joseph Kabila has no legal ownership or tenancy rights. He also took control of the "Gécamines residence", which had been intended for the Prime Minister, as well as the official residence of the President of the Legislative Council, located opposite the military officers' mess.[17]

Nelson Mandela visited the Marble Palace on 13 February 2001 for talks with the newly sworn-in President Joseph Kabila.[21][22] Years later, following the 2018 general elections, Félix Tshisekedi became president and officially took possession of the Palais de la Nation.[23] Even so, the presidential villa previously occupied by Joseph Kabila remained under Kabila's control. Because of this, Tshisekedi stayed at the Kempinski Hotel on his first night as president before later relocating to the Cité de l'Union Africaine.[23]

Tourism

The Marble Palace is open to the public for two days a year: 16 January and 17 January, which are nationally recognized as "the days of the martyrs".[1][24][25][26] These days are dedicated to the memory of two martyrs, Patrice Émery Lumumba, assassinated in Lubumbashi on 17 January 1961, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila, assassinated at the Marble Palace on 16 January 2001. The palace has preserved historical artifacts, including the bloodstained chair on which Laurent-Désiré Kabila was shot. It also exhibits a collection of photographs documenting his political journey, from his time in Les maquis to his eventual rise to power on 17 May 1997. Various works of art, honoring his legacy, also adorn the palace.[1][24][27][26][28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nsapu, Dido (16 January 2023). "Au Mémorial du Palais de marbre, les souvenirs restent encore vivaces 22 ans après l'assassinat de Mzee Kabila". Digitalcongo.cd (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Bouclage au Palais de marbre: traque d'un fou suspecté d'être un infiltré rwandais" [Closure at the Marble Palace: tracking down a madman suspected of being a Rwandan infiltrator]. Mediacongo.net (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  3. ↑ "Vif engouement de la population au Mémorial Mzee Laurent Désiré Kabila au Palais de marbre" [Strong enthusiasm of the population at the Mzee Laurent Désiré Kabila Memorial at the Marble Palace]. Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Kouadio, Jean-Francois (26 October 2017). La Republique des singes (in French). Oxford, United Kingdom: African Books Collective. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-990922-62-6.
  5. ↑ "Kinshasa commémore l'an 19 de l'assassinat de Laurent Désiré Kabila". Radio Okapi (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Africa international (in French). South Africa: Africa S.A. 1997.
  7. 1 2 Sacks, Ruth (25 July 2023). Congo Style: From Belgian Art Nouveau to African Independence. Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States: University of Michigan Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-472-90388-7.
  8. 1 2 "Albert Ndele Mbamu est décédé à Bruxelles à 93 ans". Forum des As (in French). 3 April 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Kabwit, Ghislain C. (1979). "Zaire: The Roots of the Continuing Crisis". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 17 (3): 381–407. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00005930. ISSN 0022-278X. JSTOR 160489.
  10. ↑ Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa. London, United Kingdom: BBC Monitoring. 1970. p. 7.
  11. ↑ Africa. Paris, France: Agence France-Presse. p. 27.
  12. ↑ Ghifem, Katwala (1981). Blockage Mechanisms, Disincentives, and Economic Crisis in Zaire: The Role of the West. Tervuren, Belgium: Centre d'étude et de documentation africaines. p. 13.
  13. ↑ "Cunningham, Michael Bernard, (born 14 July 1961), HM Inspector of Constabulary, since 2014", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2010, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u250658, retrieved 6 September 2023
  14. ↑ "Kissinger Offers U.S. Help in Rhodesia Negotiations". The New York Times. New York, New York, United States. 29 April 1976. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 Dibwe, Ken Anastase Mwembu (18 July 2023). Candidats aux élections présidentielles en RD Congo: Analyse biographique des présidents et candidats (in French). Paris, France: Éditions L'Harmattan. p. 17. ISBN 978-2-14-034360-5.
  16. 1 2 3 Faye, Mamadou (16 January 2021). "Laurent-Désiré Kabila: retour sur une mort mystérieuse et tragique" [Laurent-Désiré Kabila: A look back at a mysterious and tragic death]. BBC News Afrique (in French). Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wetshi, Baudouin Amba (5 September 2023). "Immeuble GLM: Vous avez dit "résidence de Joseph Kabila"?" [GLM Building: Did you say "Joseph Kabila's residence"?]. Congo Indépendant (in French). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  18. ↑ Kairouz, Matthieu (7 September 2016). "Ce jour-là: le 7 septembre 1997, Mobutu s'éteint loin du Zaïre" [On this day: 7 September 1997, Mobutu died far from Zaire]. Jeune Afrique (in French). Paris, France. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  19. ↑ Blanchard, Sandrine (7 September 2022). "Il y a 25 ans, la mort de Mobutu Sese Seko" [25 years ago, the death of Mobutu Sese Seko]. DW News (in French). Berlin, Germany. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Kinshasa: 43ème anniversaire du décès de Litho, premier distributeur de produits alimentaires" [Kinshasa: 43rd Anniversary of the Death of Litho, First Distributor of Food Products]. Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  21. ↑ "Nelson Mandela meets with President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo". Nelsonmandela.org. Houghton, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa: Nelson Mandela Foundation. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  22. ↑ "Mandela to meet Kabila". The New Humanitarian. Geneva, Switzerland. 7 February 2001. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  23. 1 2 Morice, Florence (27 January 2019). "RDC: où loger le nouveau président de la République congolaise F. Tshisekedi?" [DRC: Where to house the new President of the Congolese Republic, F. Tshisekedi?]. Rfi.fr/fr/afrique (in French). Paris, France: Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Justin Haguma: "Laurent-Désiré Kabila et Patrice-Emery Lumumba sont pour nous un patrimoine"". Radio Okapi (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  25. ↑ "Sud-Kivu: hommages aux héros nationaux Laurent Désiré Kabila et Patrice Emery Lumumba". Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  26. 1 2 Mputu, Patrick. "Hommages à Kabila et Lumumba: 16 et 17 janvier, deux jours chômés et payés" [Tributes to Kabila and Lumumba: 16 and 17 January, two paid days off]. Ouragan.cd (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  27. ↑ Ikabe, Jean-Pierre Eale (13 January 2023). "Hommage aux Héros Kabila et Lumumba" [Tribute to Heroes Kabila and Lumumba]. e-journal.info (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  28. ↑ Duke, Lynne (5 November 2003). "The Troubled Inheritance Of Joseph Kabila". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 6 September 2023.

4°21′50″S 15°15′02″E / 4.36395°S 15.25065°E / -4.36395; 15.25065

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