Congo: President Mobutu's Hometown Gbadolite - BBC News

Visit the overgrown jungle home of former President Mobutu Sese Seko who ruled the country he re-named Zaire for 32 years. His daughter Fyfy shows us round. She remembers a Picasso painting that used to hang on the wall. Please subscribe HERE http://bit.ly/1rbfUog In 1965, Mobutu assumed the presidency after a bloodless coup and became a textbook dictator, dividing and persecuting his rivals - and through nepotism and corruption he enriched himself at the expense of the country, which he renamed Zaire. In his remote home town of Gbadolite, he built a lavish palace and an airport to fly in luxuries like pink champagne. The runway was long enough to land Concorde - which he chartered. But when he was ousted in 1997, time stopped in the remote town. The jungle has now reclaimed his palace. To Find out more: World News Documentary: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/n3ct5fyt World Service Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06v... VR Hub: https://www.bbc.co.uk/virtualreality