Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart

  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

  journey down Congo River (1876–7) 198–201, 229, 244, 257–8, 260–61, 325, 326–8

  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