Indefinitely Suspended World Eyes,

I was drawn to the book In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz by Michela Wrong because of my favourite band, My Latest Novel. On a whim, in the bookshop, after seeing the title of this book, I decided that I wanted to make sense of their song, The Job Mr Kurtz Done. I probably could have used the internet at home if I had ever cared to find out who Kurtz was beforehand ( character from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which I will read soon), however, Michela Wrong earned a sale and now, a fragmented review, which may be barely more than a reference.

Michela presents a well-researched history of the turbulent history of Congo/Zaire as it strives to succeed in a post-colonial era. Unfortunately for the nation’s people, for the majority of the time since independence from Belgium, they have had to endure poor leadership – mostly that of Mobutu Sese Seko. Through his powers of manipulation and his bureaucratic ability to creat disorder and confusion amongst those ranked below him in the government and in the military, aided by the short-sightedness of the international community, he clung to power for almost three decades.

Michela Wrong spent a great deal of time in the country; as a result, the memories and opinions of people from every stratum of society have been collected and presented in an unbalanced way. Insight from those closest to Mobutu (his son, his generals and aides) to officials from foreign government agencies to accountant from international financial institutions, like the IMF and World Bank make this a fantastic book to read for those interested in modern African history.

I may be being naïve in comparing Mobutu to Mugabe but after reading this book, I feel I have better understanding of the struggle faced in removing a dictator. Once a dictator reaches a certain age and fragility, they are no longer a force but a face; it is those that they have bought who control the country. To us, thousands of miles away, the beneficiaries of these evil regimes will remain nameless, but they will be manipulating the figurehead and committing their own crimes against the people they are meant to serve – those will be the people who will be hardest to remove.