Dieudonné Kayembe

Dieudonné Kayembe Mbandakulu Tshisuma was born on 9 April 1945 at Élisabethville, Haut-Katanga District, Belgian Congo. He attended primary and secondary school Mbuji-Mayi. He joined the Congolese military at a young age and entered the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in France. After he finished that training, he was admitted to a branch school, specifically the Cavalry School at Saumur, France.^[1]

Kayembe later studied at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, where he received a staff officer certificate. After returning from the United States, in March 1999 promoted to brigadier general and became deputy minister of defense, while President Laurent-Désiré Kabila served as defense minister. In 2002 Kayembe became the deputy chief of staff of the military headquarters, and was later made the Director-General of the Military Detection of Unpatriotic Activities (DEMIAP), the military intelligence of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).^[1][2] He was replaced as the head of military intelligence by Brig. Gen. Didier Etumba on 13 August 2003.^[3]

On 12 June 2007 Kayembe was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and promoted to lieutenant general by President Joseph Kabila. He took command in a ceremony on 22 June 2007.^[1] On 1 August 2007, after four Ugandan soldiers were arrested on Rukwanzi Island for crossing the lake to the territory disputed by the DRC and Uganda, Kayembe said that their situation would be handled by the FARDC commander in Ituri.^[4] Kayembe visited Goma in September 2007 and called on members of Laurent Nkunda's rebel forces to join the FARDC's integration process, with the support of the UN Mission (MONUC).^[5] Following the November 2007 Nairobi agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, Kayembe and MONUC commander Babacar Gaye began working on a plan for a military operation against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR),^[6] known as Operation Kimia.^[7]

In late 2007 and early 2008, there an intense power struggle between Kayembe and Congolese Minister of Defense and Veterans Chikez Diemu, who had competing plans for a defense reform plan of the FARDC. Kayembe proposed a plan that would create a downsized and more professional FARDC of 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers, half of its size at the time, with the goal of defending the country's borders and population. Chikez's proposal kept the army much larger and would put its main focus on contributing to reconstruction and achieving agricultural self-sufficiency, instead of defense. Kayembe, along with the leaders of MONUC and the EU advisory mission were graduates of Saint-Cyr, fueling a conspiracy theory that the "Saint-Cyriens" worked on the plan. Kayembe's proposal was considered better by most experts, but the Chikez plan was preferred by the government at the time.^[8]

Kayembe met with the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) chief of staff, Gen. James Kabarebe, on 16 March 2008, which was convened at the request of Rwanda. They agreed to not support groups challenging their respective states, the FDLR and the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), respectively.^[9] On 20 August, he visited an army integration (brassage) center in Kisangani, where he deplored the poor sanitation and living conditions, and said he would make sure it is rehabilitated.^[10] On 7 September, he visited Rutshuru and Nyanzale to examine the situation during the fighting between the FARDC and the CNDP,^[11] with the FARDC having launched an offensive against the group on 28 August,^[12] as well as Operation Kimia.^[11] Within two months, the FARDC collapsed and the CNDP was approaching Goma as government troops abandoned the city.^[12] Kabila replaced Kayembe as chief of staff with Lt. Gen. Didier Etumba on 18 November 2008 after their indiscipline and low morale amidst the fighting with CNDP.^[13][3][14]

An announcement of his retirement was made by Ordinance 13/082 of 13 July 2013.^[15]