Colin Hendrickx

📸 Archives générales du Royaume 2 - Dépôt Joseph Cuvelier, Ministère des Colonies. Administration d'Afrique. Personnel d'Afrique. Collection de dossiers individuels produits au Congo belge (SPA Colonie), Cote 4210

F. Scheerlinck jeopardised a wartime covert operation to secure Congolese uranium for the Manhattan project. Right before Congolese independence, he reappears as a 'Special Ambassador' for the 'State of Katanga' in a failed coup d'Etat.

🔗My biographical note: www.kaowarsom.be/en/notices_s...

5/ Finally, the graphic design is stunning, inspired by the Zaire 74/Rumble in the Jungle aesthetic. Definitely looking forward to the rest of the documentary.

4/ Tshombe, on the other hand, is brushed off as a 'puppet', an assessment which could certainly be nuanced as well.

3/ As the episode's title suggests ("Lumumba's shadow"), a lot of attention is devoted to Lumumba, sometimes perhaps 'overshadowing' protagonist Mobutu, but both key actors are portrayed in a nuanced way, without at the same time lapsing into an exoneration of Mobutu.

2/ A particularly striking scene was the juxtaposition between Jonas Mukamba's account about his presence on the plane that brought Lumumba to Katanga, and the testimonies of Lumumba's son and Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, the latter calling Mukamba "a damn liar".

🎬1/ My thoughts on the documentary series "Mobutu's Game" (Panenka): it hit the mark! A timely documentary series, certainly because many of the interviewees (Mukamba, Davignon) are of a respectable age, and Jacques Brassinne already passed away between filming and airing.

🔓My article on Belgium and Mobutu's Zaire in open access: www.journalbelgianhistory.be/en/system/fi...

🎬Excited for the first episode of 'Mobutu's Game' next Tuesday on VRT! Mobutu was an authoritarian ruler, but I'm eager to see how the documentary handles the complexities of his governance, the impact on Congolese society, and the broader implications for the region. www.vrt.be/vrtmax/a-z/m...