Mayombo saved my life - Prof. Wamba
PROF. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba yesterday recounted how the late Brig. Noble Mayombo saved him from imminent death in August 1999, after he was trapped behind enemy lines in the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani.
By Emmy Allio
PROF. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba yesterday recounted how the late Brig. Noble Mayombo saved him from imminent death in August 1999, after he was trapped behind enemy lines in the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani.
The incident occurred in the middle of the Kisangani clashes, pitting Ugandan troops backing Wamba-led rebels against Rwandan forces backing the rival RDC-Goma.
Speaking on telephone from Kinshasa, Wamba recalled how Rwandan soldiers and their allies had almost encircled a textile factory on the banks of River Congo, which housed Mayombo, Otafiire and about 200 UPDF soldiers.
Wamba was 2 km away, in Wagenia Hotel in the centre of town. “I left the hotel for what seemed a safer place, where Mayombo and Otafiire were staying. Ugandan and Congolese soldiers, under the command of Capt. Moses, escorted me. We had to hide and run for most of the journey. When our truck broke down, we were forced to proceed on foot.â€Â
Upon arrival, Wamba found the textile factory surrounded by Rwandan troops.
“At around 6:00pm, I arrived near the factory but the main entrance was blocked. Ugandan soldiers had to divert the attention of the Rwandans by giving the impression that we were moving in a different direction. At that moment, Mayombo came out and grabbed me. As bullets whistled over our heads and rained on the compound, Mayombo guided me into a bunker.â€Â
After three days of clashes, the issue was how to smuggle the light-skinned Wamba to the airport to board a cargo plane to Entebbe. Mayombo, Wamba recalled, got the luminous idea to dress him in a UPDF uniform and have his face and hands blackened with charcoal. Armed with a rifle, Wamba escaped, seated in the back of a Land Rover, disguised as one of the escorts of the late Maj. Rueben Ikondere, a founding member of the NRA.
“Mayombo was among those who risked their lives to get me to a safe placeâ€Â, said the former rebel leader. “I am extremely sad at hearing about his death. He was a very hard working Pan-African patriot.
During our rebellion, despite all the troubles and difficult situations we faced, he seemed very serene and performed his duty in a principled way.â€Â
PROF. Ernest Wamba dia Wamba yesterday recounted how the late Brig. Noble Mayombo saved him from imminent death in August 1999, after he was trapped behind enemy lines in the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani.
The incident occurred in the middle of the Kisangani clashes, pitting Ugandan troops backing Wamba-led rebels against Rwandan forces backing the rival RDC-Goma.
Speaking on telephone from Kinshasa, Wamba recalled how Rwandan soldiers and their allies had almost encircled a textile factory on the banks of River Congo, which housed Mayombo, Otafiire and about 200 UPDF soldiers.
Wamba was 2 km away, in Wagenia Hotel in the centre of town. “I left the hotel for what seemed a safer place, where Mayombo and Otafiire were staying. Ugandan and Congolese soldiers, under the command of Capt. Moses, escorted me. We had to hide and run for most of the journey. When our truck broke down, we were forced to proceed on foot.â€Â
Upon arrival, Wamba found the textile factory surrounded by Rwandan troops.
“At around 6:00pm, I arrived near the factory but the main entrance was blocked. Ugandan soldiers had to divert the attention of the Rwandans by giving the impression that we were moving in a different direction. At that moment, Mayombo came out and grabbed me. As bullets whistled over our heads and rained on the compound, Mayombo guided me into a bunker.â€Â
After three days of clashes, the issue was how to smuggle the light-skinned Wamba to the airport to board a cargo plane to Entebbe. Mayombo, Wamba recalled, got the luminous idea to dress him in a UPDF uniform and have his face and hands blackened with charcoal. Armed with a rifle, Wamba escaped, seated in the back of a Land Rover, disguised as one of the escorts of the late Maj. Rueben Ikondere, a founding member of the NRA.
“Mayombo was among those who risked their lives to get me to a safe placeâ€Â, said the former rebel leader. “I am extremely sad at hearing about his death. He was a very hard working Pan-African patriot.
During our rebellion, despite all the troubles and difficult situations we faced, he seemed very serene and performed his duty in a principled way.â€Â