This archive report was first published on 8 September 2019.
Joseph Kabila, the Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from January 2001 to January 2019, has been residing at his Kingakati farm since leaving office.
Located 50km east of Kinshasa, the estate boasts a game reserve with a diverse array of wild animals, including antelopes, zebras, wildebeests, crocodiles, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, and a 4-metre python, which were imported from Namibia by Wildlife Vets.
The N'Sele Valley Park, covering 10,000 hectares of green nature, is a major attraction in Kinshasa, drawing approximately 1,700 visitors every weekend at a cost of 50,000 Congolese francs (Ksh 3,094.68) for safaris.
Former President Kabila is often seen walking around a specific spot on the land, where the N'Sele river draws an 'S' by a restaurant with a swimming pool, taking pictures with random visitors.
Despite his retirement, Kabila remains influential, hosting his successor, Felix Tshisekedi, and other major political leaders who have remained loyal to him on the land.
The formal acquisition of the immense land, which totals 19,000 hectares, with only half devoted to the N'Sele reserve, remains shrouded in mystery, with it being one of the few Kabila properties that was never touched during an investigation by Bloomberg and the Congo Research Group in 2017.
