Daniel Kanza | |
---|---|
Premier Burgomaster of Léopoldville | |
In office October 1960 – June 1962 | |
Personal details | |
Born |
1909 Manianga, Luozi Territory, Belgian Congo |
Died | 1990 |
Political party |
Alliance des Bakongo (?–1960) Alliance des Congolais (1960–) |
Spouse(s) | Élisabeth Mansangaza |
Children | 7 |
Military service | |
Allegiance |
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Service/branch | Force Publique |
Rank | Sergeant |
Daniel Kinsona Kanza (1909–1990) was a prominent Congolese politician and a leading member of the Alliance des Bakongo. He served as Premier Burgomaster of the capital of the Congo, Léopoldville, from 1960 until 1962. He later served in the National Assembly.
Biography
Daniel Kanza was born in 1909[1] in the Manianga area of the Luozi Territory.[2] He received a Protestant Christian education before enlisting in the Force Publique, being stationed all over the Congo.[1] He reached the rank of sergeant. After his service he became a Protestant deacon.[3] Between 1929 and 1940 Kanza had seven children with Élisabeth Mansangaza.[4] He worked as a functionary in the colonial administration.[5] In 1957 he became vice president of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) party. He was arrested after the Léopoldville riots of 4 January 1959.[1]
Kanza attended the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels on behalf of ABAKO in January 1960, and was chosen to be a vice president of the talks.[6] He heavily criticized party president Joseph Kasa-Vubu for his attitude during the conference and his failure to consult other party members.[7] Kasa-Vubu also pushed for a federalist government, which Kanza strongly opposed in favor of a unitary system. He and two of his sons published a series of articles in a Congo newspaper they ran that accused Kasa-Vubu of collaborating with France to divide the Congo.[8] After Kasa-Vubu walked out of the conference, Kanza attempted to assume leadership over the party but most members remained loyal to Kasa-Vubu.[1] Kanza was expelled from ABAKO on 1 February. On 4 March, he announced the formation of a dissident wing of the party, which became known as ABAKO-Kanza.[7] This later transformed into the Alliance des Congolais (ALCO).[9] Most of Kanza's support came from the Manianga area of the Luozi Territory.[2] The Manianga Council, a regional association, unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile him and Kasa-Vubu.[10] In October he was elected Premier Burgomaster of Léopoldville.[11] The following year he dismissed all European members of the city council.[12] Kanza left office in June 1962.[11] In January 1965 a group of Maniangans nominated him as candidate for national senator in anticipation of upcoming elections. However, the Lower Congo provincial governor demanded personal loyalty from all local candidates. Kanza refused to pledge such, and as a result was not included on the ballot for ABAKO.[13] Yet by 1972 he was serving in the National Assembly.[14] He died in 1990.[4]
Citations
- ^ a b c d Hoskyns 1965, p. 499.
- ^ a b Young 1965, p. 558.
- ^ Artigue 1961, p. 125.
- ^ a b Quaghebeur & Tshibola Kalengayi 2008, p. 176.
- ^ Gérard-Libois 1960, p. 290.
- ^ Kanza 1978, p. 81.
- ^ a b Coleman & Rosberg Jr. 1964, p. 589.
- ^ Africa Bureau 1960, p. 139
- ^ Ekambo 2010.
- ^ Janzen 1969, p. 574.
- ^ a b Smith, Sinclair & Ahmed, p. 80.
- ^ Young 1965, p. 425.
- ^ Janzen 1969, pp. 591–592.
- ^ West Africa 1972, p. 98.
References
- Africa Bureau (1960). Africa Digest. 7–9. London: Africa Publications Trust.
- Artigue, Pierre (1961). Qui sont les leaders congolais? (in French). 3. Éditions Europe-Afrique.
- Coleman, James S.; Rosberg Jr., Carl G., eds. (1964). Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa. University of California Press. LCCN 64-19636.
- Ekambo, Jean-Chrétien (2 April 2010). "Chronique Indépendance : la presse divise l'Abako et le MNC" (in French). Le Phare. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- Gérard-Libois, Jules, ed. (1960). Congo 1959. Brussels: Centre de Recherche et d'Information Sociopolitiques. OCLC 891524823.
- Hoskyns, Catherine (1965). The Congo Since Independence: January 1960 – December 1961. London: Oxford University Press.
- Janzen, John M. (1969). "The Politics of Apoliticality : Form and Process in a Lower Congo Régional Council" (PDF). Cahiers d'études africaines. 9 (36): 570–599. doi:10.3406/cea.1969.3183.
- Kanza, Thomas R. (1978). The rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba: conflict in the Congo (illustrated ed.). R. Collings. ISBN 9780860360681.
- Quaghebeur, Marc; Tshibola Kalengayi, Bibiane, eds. (2008). Aspects de la culture à l'époque coloniale en Afrique centrale (in French). L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782296050709.
- Smith, Klytus; Sinclair, Abiola; Ahmed, Hannibal (1995). The Harlem cultural/political movements, 1960-1970: from Malcolm X to "Black is beautiful" (illustrated ed.). Gumbs & Thomas Publishers. ISBN 9780936073163.
- West Africa (2848-2872), Afrimedia International, 1972
- Young, Crawford (1965). Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 307971.