DRC / ANR: Doctor-Colonel-Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio to the rescue!

A cardiologist, colonel of the former Zairian Armed Forces, he has been the new general administrator of the National Intelligence Agency since last August. Its mission: to give new impetus to the organization and functioning of the ANR to make it an institution serving the country and its citizens.

When, just a few weeks after his appointment by the Head of State, Félix Tshisekedi, we requested a meeting with the new head of intelligence, it was like a bottle thrown into the sea or flipping a coin. Will work, won’t work? We’re waiting to see. Past experiences lead us to display a certain pessimism instead. But we quickly found ourselves playing our own game. A few hours after our request, a phone call confirmed our meeting with the boss. Corroborating the latter’s reputation as a man who doesn’t let things drag on, reacts quickly. Certainly because of his two hats, doctor and soldier. In his vast office where he receives us – after having passed the usual security checks and waiting, not long, in two waiting rooms –, around a large oval table, in the presence of his assistant, the owner knows put your interlocutor or visitor at ease. The one who affirms “since I was young, I had a lot of admiration for all professions that place man as the center of interest”following in some way the precept of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Men, be human, it is your first duty”, answers questions without tongue in cheek and says he always works as a team. Having returned from Belgium for a while, after several decades spent outside the Congo, the man who says he has two passions in his life, medicine and the army, recognizes the sacrifices made by the Congolese of the diaspora when they return to the country to work or invest, “but love of the country and humanity must come first”. Two values ​​anchored in the body.

Originally from central Kongo, born in 1954, Daniel Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio, after secondary studies, from 1966 to 1972, at the Salvation Army college in Kinshasa, joined the Royal Military School (ERM) of Belgium to continue his military training, at the same time pursuing university studies. Initially studying at the medical faculty of the University of Notre-Dame de la Paix de Namur, he then joined the Free University of Brussels (ULB) where he obtained his doctorate in medicine in 1980. This was followed by a diploma in tropical medicine at the Prince Leopold Institute in Antwerp, a certificate in military medicine at the Royal School of Medical Service (ERSM), in Ghent, in 1981, before returning to the country in 1982, where he led a career as a doctor and military officer within the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ, current Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo). Successively assigned to different health departments of the Ministry of National Defense – second in command of the Health Service School (ESS) of the Kitona military base, doctor at the Medical Center of the lieutenant-colonel Tshatshi military camp, in Kinshasa, etc. . – he had a brilliant career within the Congolese army, notably in the Special Presidential Division (DSP), responsible for protecting the head of state, President Mobutu Sese Seko. Promoted to the rank of colonel in 1992, after having been appointed major in 1986, lieutenant-colonel in 1989, his record of service earned him the Medal of Civic Merit, with the rank of officer of the National Order Leopard in 1993.

“I had always dreamed of returning and serving my country more”

Soldier and doctor, Daniel Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio strives to treat human ailments well and always better. This is how in 1994, “following my request”, he specifies, he returns to Belgium to complete his training in cardiology. But the colonel-doctor will not return to the country after his DES (Diploma of Specialized Studies) in cardiology, obtained in 1999. Forced into exile because of the dismissal, in 1997, of Marshal Mobutu and the seizure of power by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) of Laurent-Désiré Kabila. The latter was assassinated in 2001, but his son, Joseph Kabila, succeeded him until January 2019. A heartbreak for this patriot in love with his native Congo. « It is a nightmare for me to be forced to find myself far from my homeland, my thirst to serve in the army to defend my country has remained insatiable. I had always dreamed of returning and serving my country more.”confides in an interview the former military advisor to Etienne Tshisekedi Wa Mulumba, co-founder of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), and father of the current Congolese head of state.

Until his appointment, the new head of Congolese intelligence worked as a cardiologist in various hospitals in Belgium, notably at the Saint-Pierre University Hospital Center in Brussels where he worked for 29 years. Married, father of six children, founding president of the Union of Congolese Military Patriots (UPMC), a structure bringing together members of the former Zaire Armed Forces in exile since the advent of Kabila father and son, Daniel Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio, described as a true patriot – “Daniel Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio combined his functions as a doctor with his patriotic, not to say political, activities, since he was very close to Etienne Tshisekedi”, according to Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu, specialist in sociopolitical, security and military issues -, must bring new life to the country’s intelligence services. For many observers, notably human rights NGOs and opposition political parties, who have regularly accused the ANR of arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions, torture, among others, it is necessary a new impetus in the organization and functioning of the institution. For those who knew him, Daniel Lusadusu-Nkiambi Wansadio is the man needed to lead this « mutation » Congolese intelligence services. “I am personally convinced that his appointment will bring a new dynamic to the design and operation of the intelligence and peace services”underlines Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu in an interview given to local television. “If we give him a free hand, I think he could bring about change because the security services are called upon to support the democratic process in which the country is engagedcontinued the analyst for whom the ANR must work for and for the benefit of citizens. »

There is no doubt that the new boss of the ANR, as a seasoned soldier, has numerous strategies to revitalize, professionalize and humanize the Congolese security and intelligence services. And turn a rather dark and troubled page for the institution. “After 20 years of Kabila, the country is in great security, social, political and economic instability (…) It is now up to us to rectify the situation and this is what we have decided to undertake from now on”he confided recently.

Boxed

Robert Abel Ngwama Bindele, number 2 of the ANR

Born in 1961 in Boma, in the central Kongo province, this discreet Protestant will support the new boss of the ANR in his mission to transform the house. He knows every nook and cranny, having spent around thirty years there. Above all, he knows the men and women who work there. And this, especially as he gradually climbed the ranks. This humble and courteous man of course started as a simple analyst then office manager. He then became division head before rising to the rank of director. He holds a DEA (Diploma of Advanced Studies) in psychology, obtained at the National Pedagogical University (UPN), located in the eponymous district, in Kinshasa. During his already busy career, the deputy general administrator of the ANR has followed several professional training courses provided in particular by foreign services and specialists.

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