Congolese writer and author of ‘Africa’s Opportunity in the Trumpian Age of American Transactionalism’, Andréa Ngombet, founded the Sassoufit Collective to document human rights violations in the Republic of the Congo: ‘It started as a mobilization against President Sassou Nguesso’s 2015 constitutional change and then evolved into a support structure for local voices. This vocation also aligns with my historian training: to produce, document and archive so that future generations know we resisted and that another Congo was possible.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
The first book I read was the Encyclopædia Universalis in 30 volumes. I flipped through that massive collection throughout my childhood, until the Republic of the Congo Civil Wars of 1993 and 1997 scattered our family library. I cannot really say I read like a normal child. I was passionate about maps and globes. Occasionally, I read comics at the French Cultural Centre in Brazzaville. But mostly, I browsed through my father’s esoteric books, image-less Shakespeare, the Quran and the Bible. It was not a parental expectation. I was the third child, with two older brothers, and I was a somewhat invisible, feral child.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
Tough question, but without hesitation: Les Partis et la Vie Politique dans l’Occident Médiéval by Jacques Heers. This remarkable work unlocked essential paths to understanding Western political modernity. More recently, Pierre-François Souyri’s Moderne sans être occidental became an epistemological turning point in my search for a way to adapt global democratic practices to my country’s context—the Meiji-era Japan’s ability to modernize without becoming Western opened fruitful paths.
You have a bachelor’s degree in history from Sorbonne University, Paris. What’s the greatest thing/text/book you’ve ever read on history?
Heer’s Les Partis et la Vie Politique dans l’Occident Médiéval. But there is also a high-level French medievalist tradition. The ‘global history’ school, which repositions nineteenth-century inherited narratives in a decentred, non-Western perspective, is nourishing. Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s work on early modern global history is particularly impactful.
I cannot really say I read like a normal child. I was passionate about maps and globes. Occasionally, I read comics at the French Cultural Centre in Brazzaville.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt from history?
One important lesson would be to respect the sources. Another is to cherish facts without worshipping them. Question them from all angles. One of my Sorbonne professors, Reynald Abad, inferred the decline of religious sentiment in Paris before the French Revolution from data showing a drop in fish consumption on Fridays! Paying attention to the seemingly trivial, then patiently building an archive-based critical apparatus—that is where history stops and political action begins. Inspired by the ancients (nanos gigantum umeris insidentes), we can shape the present and change the future.
What was your process for writing your essay, ‘From Kongo Kings to Cross-Congo Conflicts’?
I had the idea in my backlog for some time. When the opportunity came to organize my research on Congo’s history and its links with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I revisited my notes and archives and tried to summarize four centuries without falling into nostalgia or mythical revivalism. I aimed to offer readers the most objective view possible.
What inspired this essay?
Serendipity! I was writing about Congo and China when the editor from The Republic, Hanna Desta, asked me to add a note on Congo-Brazzaville and DR Congo relations. I resisted at first, because I believed that topic deserved more than a footnote. And it ended up opening Pandora’s box!
How did your approach change in writing your latest essay, ‘Africa’s Opportunity in the Trumpian Age of American Transactionalism’?
This was current affairs writing, which means it was tougher, since the subject was still unfolding. I tried to trace the historical arcs of Africa–US relations, highlighting both slavery and anti-colonial support from Americans. ‘Africa’s Opportunity in the Trumpian Age of American Transactionalism’ was an attempt to offer nuance against dominant narratives. America’s abrupt withdrawal from democracy aid exposed the world’s dependence on it, even as it is harshly criticized. That chapter is over—and that’s for the best.
You are the founder of the Sassoufit Collective, a citizens’ organization ‘which advocates for democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of the Congo’ by documenting abuse, mobilizing citizens and supporting victims of repression. What inspired you to establish this organization?
It started as a mobilization against President Sassou Nguesso’s 2015 constitutional change and then evolved into a support structure for local voices. This vocation also aligns with my historian training: to produce, document and archive so that future generations know we resisted and that another Congo was possible. Change comes gradually.
Sassoufit Collective started as a mobilization against President Sassou Nguesso’s 2015 constitutional change and then evolved into a support structure for local voices.
And what has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced running it?
I have learnt that identity retreats into tribalism, the dictatorship-induced appetite for rumour and disinformation. Above all, the totalitarian nature of the regime destroyed the social fabric and the moral compass.
And what’s a book you never want to read again (and why)?
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown! But really, I don’t have deep hatred for any one book. There are many bad ones. Nietzsche was right: ‘He who knows the reader does nothing more for the reader.’ Another century of readers, and the very spirit will stink.
What book from the Republic of Congo do you feel has not yet received the attention it deserves?
Without hesitation: Jazz et Vin de Palme by Emmanuel Dongala. This book introduced me to the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Since then, I’ve learnt from Dave Brubeck, Nina Simone, and all the great jazz musicians.
Which three books on the Republic of Congo should everyone be reading at this moment?
Un Océan, Deux Mers, Trois Continents by Wilfried N’Sondé, Cave 72 by Fann Attiki and the classic, La Vie et demi by Sony Labou Tansi.
America’s abrupt withdrawal from democracy aid exposed the world’s dependence on it, even as it is harshly criticized.
And who are the Congolese authors you’re most excited about today (and why)?
I admire Robert Nzaou’s visual work, which straddles social critique and queer intimacy. There is also a movement of engaged poets and rappers like Martial Panucci. For pure entertainment, ‘Sapo Gang’ by Sam Samurai is perfection.
What’s one thing readers should be aware of when reading about the Republic of the Congo?
Patience. The Republic of the Congo is not French, it is Congolese—it is an idiom of its own! And like in much of Africa, there is also a ‘government literature’, which is terrible and obsequious. Avoid it at all costs.
What’s a book that brings you joy?
Les Fleurs du Mal—I reread it from time to time.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days?
China, Africa and Congo. I highly recommend China and Her Neighbours by Michael Tai. That book helps me understand how misguided the narrative that makes Africans think that China is not also an imperial colonial power is.
Legacy doesn’t belong to us. I strive to act in the here and now, as a model of willpower, objectivity, and fairness.
What are you currently working on now?
It is somewhat top secret! We are investigating and trying to dismantle the vast, corrupt networks of the Congolese regime—a massive task.
Question from Hamza Koudri: What would you like to be the legacy you leave behind?
I don’t think in those terms. Legacy doesn’t belong to us. I strive to act in the here and now, as a model of willpower, objectivity, and fairness.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft
What story would you never write, and why?
Who should we interview next?
Hassim Boukambou Tall⎈
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