Rebel forces walked unopposed into this capital city Saturday, and their leader, Laurent Kabila, declared himself ruler of the country.
A day after President Mobutu Sese Seko surrendered power and fled to his palace in the northern village of Gbadolite, the remaining members of his military and political elite, including his prime minister, evacuated in panic across the Zaire River. Thousands of singing, chanting, applauding residents waved white flags, white shirts, even white plastic chairs as they filled the streets to greet the rebels."Kabila is our liberator," they shouted in welcome to the forces that seized control of Zaire in just seven months and broke Mobutu's 31-year grip on power.
Kabila's easy takeover of Kinshasa marks the stunning finale of a rebel campaign that catapulted itself from the obscurity of the Rift Valley of east-central Africa in October and marched clear across the continent's third-largest nation to make good on its promise to sweep away the political system called "Mobutuism." It opened, however, a new phase marked by uncertainty about how Kabila, a former Marxist who says he supports democracy and free-market economics, will govern the nation.
Armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, with no combat vehicles in sight, a vanguard force estimated by a military analyst at 1,500 fighters seized the parliament building, called the Palace of the People, and the Voice of Zaire state radio station. The rebels, some of them Swahili speakers from the east and many of them in their teens, walked into the center of Kinshasa along Boulevard Lumumba, named for Zaire's first post-independence prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, whose Pan-Africanist creed of the early 1960s formed the philosophical underpinning for Kabila's political beliefs.
Saturday, from rebel headquarters in the southeastern city of Lubumbashi, Kabila declared himself in control of the country - and officially renamed it. "Kabila assumes power, from this day, the function of Congolese head of state of the Democratic Republic of Congo," the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire said in a statement quoted by news services.
The country was known as Congo both under Belgian colonial rule and in the first years of its independence. Mobutu renamed it Zaire in 1972 as part of his campaign to rid his nation of Western influence.
Kabila, 56, announced that his alliance would establish an interim government in 72 hours and set up a constituent assembly in 60 days to create a provisional constitution. He urged civil servants to remain in their posts and to make contact with the alliance for further guidance.
Mobutu's exact whereabouts and plans were unclear. He abandoned Kinshasa on Friday, passing control of the country to his Cabinet. Aides said the cancer-stricken Mobutu, 66, had flown to his northern hometown of Gbadolite, 700 miles away, for a few days' "rest."
Kabila said he had no plans for Mobutu: "He can stay in his village, but I think it is not very important at all."
Kabila said Zairian army generals in Kinshasa had told him they were "ready to receive orders from me."
Ten thousand rebel soldiers were heading into Kinshasa, he said. Western military sources, insisting on anonymity, said the rebels controlled the international airport and a cargo airport.
The threat of violence by fleeing government soldiers kept residents indoors in some parts of Kinshasa. Elsewhere, crowds lined roads and leaned out over balconies as rebels passed, chanting "We're free!" Some rushed to bring water to marching fighters.
"Oh, Kabila! Oh, Kabila!" 18-year-old Miguel Kamputu shouted as he rolled on a filthy sidewalk then shook with laughter. "Too much suffering. Too much suffering. He is finally here."
"This is a very good day for us - a very good day," cried Honore Lubuku, happily jogging down the street. "For 32 years we saw Mobutu steal our money, eat our food, ruin our lives. Now it's his turn to suffer."
At the Grand Market downtown about 300 young people faced down government troops who tried to block their way. The troops opened fire and then dispersed. Two people who appeared to be civilians were killed.
Western military sources also said a Zairian soldier shot and killed Gen. Marc Mahele Lieko Bokungu, declaring him a traitor to Mobutu: The general had advised Mobutu on Thursday that soldiers would not defend the capital and urged him to leave.
Mobutu's handpicked prime minister, Gen. Likulia Bolongo, had vowed in a radio broadcast Saturday to remain in power "until the end," urging government troops to remain in their camps.
But within an hour, the end had arrived: The general slipped across the Zaire River to Brazzaville, Congo, a Western diplomat said.
Mobutu's son, Mobutu Kongulu - also a senior army officer - also fled to Brazzaville with his family and 30 armed bodyguards. Officials of the Congo government, which is close to the Mobutu regime, greeted them warmly - then disarmed them to the cheers of onlookers.
Mobutu himself was expected to head to Morocco and eventually on to exile in France.
An American evacuation team was on alert in Brazzaville - as it had been for a week - but had not received any order to evacuate the 300 or so Americans in Kinshasa, Navy Cmdr. Bob Anderson said.
Kabila appealed for calm in Kinshasa, and warned that anyone who harmed Zairians or foreigners would be "severely sanctioned." Kabila's soldiers have been accused of atrocities against refugees.
While the rebel leader has promised to undo the damage wrought by Mobutu's nearly 32 years in power, he has been short on specifics.
Mobutu reputedly has become one of world's richest men during his rule - while Zaire itself fell into poverty. He long has been rumored to have stashed up to $4 billion in Switzerland.
The Swiss government announced Saturday that it is temporarily blocking all assets held by Mobutu and his family.