Louis Bobozo

Louis Bobozo was born in 1915 in the Mongala District, Équateur, Belgian Congo. He voluntarily enlisted in the Force Publique on 28 June 1933. On 1 April 1940 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. In 1941 he was deployed to Ethiopia to participate in the East African Campaign of World War II, commanding a machine gun platoon during the Siege of Saïo. From 1953–1954 he served as Joseph-Désiré Mobutu's drill instructor in Luluabourg. In 1960 the Congo achieved independence and the Force Publique subsequently mutinied to protest poor conditions. African officers were appointed to replace European personnel to try and alleviate the problem, and Mobutu was made chief-of-staff of the force, renamed the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Due to the upheaval in the officer corps and his family ties with Mobutu, Bobozo was quickly promoted to colonel put in charge of the garrison of Camp Hardy in Thysville. He briefly acted as interim commander-in-chief of the army in October. In 1963 he was put in charge of a new unit, the fourth groupement (regiment) of South Katanga.

Following Mobutu's coup in November 1965, Bobozo was appointed to be commander-in-chief of the ANC. By 1970 his health had declined to the point where had to hand over his duties to an acting general. He officially retired as commander-in-chief in 1972. He died in July 1982.