MBABANE:Christian Malanga,a Congolese businessman and politician with close ties to eSwatini Defense Principal Secretary(PS) Prince Sicalo has been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) while attempting to overthrow President Felix Tshisekedi.
Malanga,the alleged military friend to the King’s powerful and influential first-born son who was residing at Tubungu eStates in the Kingdom of eSwatini, and referred to the Prince as his Military Advisor, was killed on Sunday morning while trying to remove the DRC President from power,he was with a group of about twenty(20) armed men.
Worth-noting,Malanga was in eSwatini some months ago attending an event as per an alleged invitation by the Defense Principal Secretary(PS),he then posted a video on LinkedIn expressing gratitude to the Prince for the invitation and the success of the event.
“What a memorable event with my Military Advisor and confidant HRH Prince Sicalo. His SADC leadership as Principle Secretary of the Eswatini Defence Force has been a prominent advocacy and promoter of security reform for the New Zaire”, the deceased DRC businessman posted on LinkedIn.
But it remains unclear if the eSwatini Prince who was militarily trained by the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi at a very young age, was involved in the planning of the failed coup in the DRC.
A questionnaire was sent to Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo,the Army Spokesperson, however,she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
On another note,News24 reported on Sunday thar, Christian Malanga(41),of the United States(US) based United Congolese Party(UCP),was killed as his band of twenty(20) armed men reportedly tried to force entry into the Palais de la Nation, the complex that is home to President Felix Tshisekedi's government.
“Malanga's right-hand man was Benjamin Zalman-Polun from Maryland (US) identified in earlier reports as an American cannabis entrepreneur.Both Malanga and Zalman-Polun were partners in mining ventures and the fast-growing electronic cigarette liquids sector”, News24 reported on Sunday.
Eswatini Defense Principal Secretary Prince Sicalo, the late DRC businessman Christian Malanga and an identified man(pic: LinkedIn).