Characters / MTNO Katanga

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State of Katanga

Official Name: State of Katanga

Ruling Party: Union Nationale du Peuple Katangais^note National Union of the Katangese People

Ideology: Aristocratic Conservatism^note Despotism

As a nation, Katanga is a product of colonialism. Despite being colonized by the Belgians, the economically rich province never had anything to do with the rest of the Congo. The borders drawn by the Europeans grouped made it so that Katanga's destiny would lie in the Congo... And yet, Katangese Independence was achieved. At first as a slave to a dying colonial elite, one that was swept away in the bloody flood that was the Katangese Revolution. Kinshasa's miserable attempts to capture Katanga have failed, and while the north wallows in their failures and trip upon their swords; Katanga prepares for a second round.

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General Tropes

• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • The Front de libération nationale congolaise^note Congolese National Liberation Front (FLNC) was a real insurgent group that, in our timeline, consisted of former Katangese gendarmerie. The group made two incursions into Katanga (Shaba I and II) with the goal of overthrowing the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, failing to do so before it was dissolved in the 90s. In MTNO, the FLNC was formed by Katangese exiles and supported by the Congolese government; who sought to use the FLNC to overthrow the regime of Jean Schramme and reincorporate Katanga into the Congo. The FLNC would go on to play an important role in the First Congo War, as it was the main rebel group fighting alongside the Congolese National Army against the Katangese Armed Forces. While Katanga went on to win the First Congo War, the FLNC continued their insurgency until 2006 and became a political party after giving up the armed struggle for reunification.
  • Contrary to how the real State of Katanga came to be, Katanga in this timeline was made independent as a concession from the Americans to the local Belgian elites. Under Jean Schramme, Katanga was largely seen as a continuation of RK Zentralafrika. However, due to Lumumba's victory in the Congolese Civil War, Katanga was further isolated. For this reason, Schramme gave up power to a clique of trusted collaborators from the Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga who appointed Jean Nguza (the nephew of Moïse Tshombe, who led Katanga's secession in OTL) to lead the country whereas Schramme would be appointed Chief of Staff of the Katangese Armed Forces. It was only then that Katanga took its current shape in an attempt to legitimize its existence.
  • Katanga during "Katangese Revolution" bears parallels to Zaire and Rwanda under the MNRD. As part of the Katangese Revolution, the mining companies that were given free reign under Schramme were nationalized, and the government sought to distance itself from its colonial origins by renaming towns with Belgian names, mirroring Mobutu's Africanisation policies. Part of the revolution saw attempts to create a national identity centered upon the Lunda people, with other groups being marginalized and labeled as traitors as Katanga become a one-party ethnic supremacist dictatorship under the UNAKAT (the successor to the CONAKAT), a mirror to Rwanda under the Hutus.
  • The Wazalendo (Patriots) and their role in the genocide of the Kasaians is similar to that of the Interahamwe in OTL. Additionally, the name "Wazalendo" has been used to describe groups of small, armed militias active in the southeastern Congo in real life.
• Crapsack World: While Katanga is rich in resources and capable of using the wealth from its mining operations to increase living standards tenfold, the rulers of the country haven't gone to such lengths to provide to their people. The average Katangese citizen is dirt poor, and the country lacks proper infrastructure outside of the important cities and mining centers. Most of the country's budget either goes into security (for a very good reason given Katanga's hostile neighbors) or into the offshore bank accounts of UNAKAT politicians. What the population gets amounts to breadcrumbs.
• Elite Army: The Katangese Armed Forces (Or the Katangese Gendarmerie) is trained by German, Spanish and Moroccan advisors and has slowly turned into a well-trained, well-equipped fighting force over the last decades; making it into the most effective army in the region.
• Final Solution: In 1983, a self-coup by President Jean Nguza re-asserted government control over the Armed Forces, which were previously directed by Jean Schramme and his clique of Belgian mercenaries and landowners. This led to a spike in ethnic tensions, as the CONAKAT was predominantly Lunda. Fears of an all-out war between Katanga's ethnic groups would materialize when, in 1985, Balunda militias who referred to themselves as "Wazalendo"^note Patriots carried out massacres against anyone they labeled to be Kasaians, whom they considered strangers and not authentic Katangese. The Katangese military sat by and allowed the massacres to happen, even participating in some cases. When the victims joined the Congolese National Liberation Front en masse and fought back, the Katangese military, by government orders, deported entire villages suspected of collaborating with the FLNC to mining camps where prisoners were worked to death. The genocide would only end after Nguza died of a heart attack in 1995, and his successor, Gabriel Kyungu, closed off the camps and put a stop to the massacres and deportations.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Katanga is the only German-backed government in sub-saharan Africa. Although it may seem small and unimportant at first glance, in reality, Katanga is rich in mineral resources like cobalt and zinc, making it into an extremely important trading partner for the Germans who don't have the same kind of access to Africa's natural resources as their rivals do.
• Nepotism: Nepotism is rampant in Katanga's government, as members of government will often hand out positions to their relatives without taking any consideration for how competent they may be.
• Please Select New City Name: During the Katangese Revolution, Élisabethville (previously Richardsstadt) was renamed to Lubumbashi and Jadotville became Likasi.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Although Katanga is no longer a ethnocracy, its treatment towards "Kasaians" (A very ample term given to people from the north or those who are perceived as outsiders, such as the Baluba and immigrants from the northwest) is still quite poor. Katanga is also a rogue state that threatens to destabilize the entire region, and its only allies consists of other terrible, genocidal dictatorships such as Nazi Germany and Falangist Spain.
• Proxy War: The Second Congo War will break out in 2014 and quickly become a proxy war, with the Germans backing the State of Katanga and the Americans supporting the Congolese government.

Kyungu Government

Gabriel Kyungu

Role: President

Party: Union Nationale du Peuple Katangais^note National Union of the Katangese People

Ideology: Aristocratic Conservatism^note Despotism, Controlled Democracy^note  Paternalism (Katangese Independence Recognized)

The President of Katanga and successor to Jean Nguza, Gabriel Kyungu has ruled as a dictator akin to his predecessor. But beyond the accusations of human rights abuses, corruption and authoritarianism, lies a patriot with a simple goal: preserve the independence of Katanga through whatever means possible.

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• Cincinnatus: If Katanga wins the Second Congo War and has its independence recognized by Kinshasa, Kyungu will proclaim "a new era for Katanga" and liberalize the political system; eventually stepping down and endorsing his successor, Dominique Munongo, in the following elections.
• Cult of Personality: Kyungu has built a personality cult around him as the "Father of Katanga" (disregarding his predecessor entirely), equating his relationship with his people as akin to that of a father and his family.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Kyungu, who belongs to the Baluba himself, was disturbed by news of the killings carried out against his people and put a stop to the military's crimes as soon as he took power.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Despite still being a dictator, Kyungu isn't as brutal as his predecessor. Since taking power, he has put a stop to the mass killings, allowed some degree of political liberties, and negotiated with the insurgents of the FLNC to bring peace to Katanga after years of instability.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Kyungu's decisions have been motivated by his desire to do whatever is necessary to maintain Katanga stable and independent. He negotiated with the FLNC and made concessions to kill off the biggest threat to his rule and allowed the opposition to flourish in a controlled environment to prevent widespread dissatisfaction to his regime, and should Katanga emerge victorious in the Second Congo War, he will willingly give up power and allow democracy to flourish in Katanga to ensure the country will survive the upcoming decades.
• President Evil: As President of Katanga, Kyungu is an authoritarian dictator who is willing to destabilize an entire country and allow his people to wallow in misery. Downplayed however by the fact that Kyungu isn't an actual monster. He wants to secure Katanga's independence through whatever means possible and is ready to give up power should this goal be achieved, not to mention he has made a number of arguably good decisions as President; like negotiating a peace with the FLNC and putting an end to the genocide of Kasaians.
• Red Baron: One of his titles is Baba wa Katanga, meaning Father of Katanga.
• Token Enemy Minority: Despite belonging to the Baluba ethnic group with whom the Katangese government were practically at war with, he was well-liked by President Nguza. After Vice President Jean-Baptiste Kibwe was executed for trying to negotiate with the FLNC, Nguza trusted Kyungu enough to appoint him as the new Vice President.

Dominique Munongo

Role: Vice President, President (Potentially)

Party: Unité Fédéraliste Nationale^note National Federalist Unity

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

Princess Dominique Munongo Inamizi is the Vice President of Katanga and a natural leader just like her father, befitting of her position as Kyungu's successor and as an important figure to the Bayeke people.

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• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: She is the first female to hold the position of Vice President, and can potentially become the first female President as well.
• Internal Reformist: If she reaches the Presidency, her biggest priority will be putting an end to corruption in government and introduce extensive social reforms to alleviate the plight of the Katangese people, improving their standards of living for the first time after decades of neglect.
• Iron Lady: Dominique proves to be a capable leader able to rally the people of Katanga under their flag, and her Presidency may just see the beginning of Katanga's rise to prominence as a major player in the region.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She is a Yeke princess and a high-ranking politician in Katanga's government, even having the ability to become President and rule over the entire country.
• You Killed My Father: Her father, Godefroid Munongo, briefly ruled over South Kasai after it became a puppet state of Katanga during the Congolese Civil War. He would be abandoned by Jean Schramme's forces and subsequently captured and executed by the Congolese National Army. Dominique, who was only a child when her father was killed, came to despise the government in Kinshasa and became an ardent Katangese nationalist.