On 16 January 2001, Laurent Kabila President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was killed by gunshot. According to reports Kabila was shot by one of his bodyguards in front of army generals, following a dispute in which he had sacked them. It was later confirmed that the incident was not a coup attempt, but an argument that got out of hand. His son Joseph Kabila took over the reins of power as DRC President. Joseph was very young at the time he became head of state, and many people had no confidence in him.
Kabila became President of Zaire after the death of Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997. He wasted no time in making changes as he also renamed the country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
eventREF E-0072399Revised
16 January 2001
DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated
- Updated
- 13 Jan 2020
Laurent-Désiré Kabila in 2000
How we know this
- 01Knight, J. & Parks, R., ‘Laurent-Désiré Kabila’, from Answers.com, [online], Available at www.answers.com [Accessed: 02 December 2011]
- 02Talbot C., (2001), ‘The Congo: President Kabila assassinated’, from World Socialist Web Site, 18 January [online], Available at www.wsws.org [Accessed: 02 December 2011]
Last updated · 13 Jan 2020
South African History Online. (2012, January 13). DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072399
South African History Online (2012) 'DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated', South African History Online, 13 January. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072399 (Accessed: 31 October 2026).
South African History Online, DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072399, (accessed 31 October 2026).
"DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated." South African History Online, 13 Jan. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072399. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "DRC President Laurent Kabila is assassinated." South African History Online. January 13, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0072399.
Also on 16 January
- 1834Sir Benjamin D’Urban, for whom the city Durban was named, assumes office as Governor of the Cape of Good Hope
- 1971The first Cape to Rio yacht race takes place
- 1990Paedophile Gert van Rooyen and mistress commit suicide
- 1993Bafana Bafana draws with Nigeria
- 1994Clarence Makwetu announces the PAC’s suspension of its armed struggle
- 2006Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, becomes the first woman to be Head of State in Africa
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