"In the summer of 1984, I had an unforgettable conversation with one of my Congolese friends. I had been in the Congo for only six months at the time, and my Swahili could only handle simple conversations. My friend had been listening to shortwave radio broadcasts describing the political events in America. He heard a news report about the presidential re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan and wanted me to clarify something for him. He calmly asked me in Swahili, “If Walter Mondale goes on to win the election and defeat Reagan, who would then kill Reagan?”
At first I thought I had heard him wrong and it was just my poor Swahili. He then repeated his question slowly, “Nani ataua Reagan?” Who will kill Reagan? I suddenly realized I was in a place that did not understand peaceful transfer of power. President Mobutu ruled the Congo as an iron-fisted dictator for thirty-two years (1965 to 1997). He had no intentions of having a peaceful transfer of power or grooming a younger person to take over. The only thing he could see in a young, potential successor was “threat” with a capital “T.”
(Spiritual Adoption & Africa Potential for Changing a Land Scape. Mike Nichols & Tresor Yenyi. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp49-50)
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