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Odette Babandoa Etoa

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Odette Babandoa Etoa
Minister of Transport and Communications
In office
14 March 1999 – 2 September 2000
PresidentLaurent-Désiré Kabila
Personal details
Born (1961-01-11) 11 January 1961 (age 63)
Aketi, Orientale, Republic of the Congo

Odette Babandoa Etoa (born 11 January 1961) is a Congolese opposition politician and former government minister.

Early life and education

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Odette Babandoa Etoa was born in Aketi in Orientale Province on 11 January 1961. She studied law.[1]

Career

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Babandoa Etoa is a member of the Kinshasa Bar. She has worked as a magistrate and legal advisor to the Prime Minister's office. She was appointed Deputy General and the Chairperson of the Bas-Uele Railway Board.[1]

She is the President of the UPR (Patriotic Union for the Republic, party presently in the opposition in the DRCongo).[citation needed]

In 1999, she was appointed Minister of Transport and Communications by President Laurent-Désiré Kabila.[2]

In July 2000, she and her husband were arrested and accused of accepting bribes from a foreign country after meetings with senior Canadian government officials including David Kilgour and the awarding of a $41.5million contract to Quebec company Navigation Aeronav.[3] However, the Canadian company denied any bribes had been offered,[3] and others said she had been targeted for trying to expose corruption in Kabila's government.[4] Three other ministers had been arrested in the preceding weeks.[5]

She was released a day after her arrest on 7 July, and then arrested again on 13 July and released on 21 July.[6] Her husband was tried for "treason in war-time" for allowing journalists hostile to the regime to use his office.[7][6] He was sentenced to one year in jail but was released on provisional bail in August 2000.[8]

Since her departure from government, Babandoa Etoa has served as President of the Forum of Women Lawyers. She spoke out against corruption and flaws in the 2006 electoral process.[9] In 2011, she criticised Joseph Kabila and irregularities in the presidential election that she said contravened the constitution.[10]

In April 2011, Babandoa Etoa joined Vital Kamerhe's opposition party Union for the Congolese Nation,[11] later becoming Secretary General of the party.[12][13] She is sometimes referred to as "Joan of Arc" or the "Iron Lady".[1] As of 2016 she is also the "moral authority" of the Union for the Republic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[14]

In January 2016, she called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to fully assume its independence by publishing a detailed electoral calendar.[14]

Personal life

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Babandoa Etoa is married to lawyer Nicolas Okende Katako and has six children.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d KiAka, Simon (14 May 2005). "Madame Babandoa Odette : Portrait d'une candidate qui change les données pour les élections présidentielles" (in French). Planete Afrique. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Democratic Republic of Congo: Government List". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa. 31 March 1999.
  3. ^ a b c Stackhouse, John (13 July 2000). "Bribery scandal in Congo entangles Canadians". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Transport minister arrested". IRIN. 10 July 2000. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Info-Congo Kinshasa #161". Africa Files. June 2000.
  6. ^ a b "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 2000". U.S. Department of State. 23 February 2001.
  7. ^ "Congo-Kinshasa: Two More Journalists Jailed in Kakese Case". All Africa. 29 August 2000. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Congo-Kinshasa: One Journalist Released On Bail in Kakese Case". All Africa. 29 August 2000. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  9. ^ Babandoa, Odette (7 April 2006). "Déclaration de Mme Odette Babandoa" (in French). Prince du Fleuve Congo. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  10. ^ "L'UNC dénonce "une démarche politique immorale, irresponsable et frisant la tricherie"". Congo Planete (in French). 6 January 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Encore une pêche prometteuse pour Vital Kamerhe" (in French). FCE. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  12. ^ Kayuba, Jeannot (7 January 2016). "Processus électoral – Odette Babandoa invite la Céni à publier un calendrier électoral détaillé" (in French). All Africa. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Congo-Kinshasa: Odette Babandoa réagit aux propos de Lambert Mende". La Prospérité (in French). All Africa. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  14. ^ a b Kayuba, Jeannot (7 January 2016). "Processus électoral : Odette Babandoa invite la Céni à publier un calendrier électoral détaillé". Agence D'Information D'Afrique Centrale (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2017.
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