Gbadolite

History

Mobutu built Gbadolite into a luxurious town often nicknamed "Versailles of the Jungle". He built a hydroelectric dam on the nearby Ubangi River in Mobayi Mbongo, an international airport, Gbadolite Airport, which could accommodate a Concorde, and three large palaces. As a result, the people of the town had no trouble finding jobs. During Mobutu's regime, Gbadolite also had companies such as CDIA Zaire for farming productions, SOZAGEC for road construction, and SAFRICAS for house construction. The town had a general hospital with high tech facilities, supermarkets and malls, which were destroyed in 1997. Gbadolite had also College Presidentiel, a high school famous for its academic excellence and administered by Jesuit Fathers to whom Mobutu gave the school. This school had a chemistry lab, physics lab, computer lab, Olympic game facilities, and band instruments of all kinds. The town was also famous for its Chapelle Marie la Misericorde, a luxurious church in which Mobutu buried his first wife, Mama Mobutu. Two palaces were built outside Gbadolite at Kawele. One was an elaborate complex of Chinese pagodas, while the other was a modern mansion. Both were used as residences for Mobutu and guests. The three-story palace in Gbadolite was used primarily for public functions. Mobutu also built a nuclear bunker that could house more than 500 people. It was the only one in central Africa and the largest on the continent. The bunker was connected to the Ubangui River by a secret tunnel, giving access to the military harbour at the village of N'dangi. When Laurent Kabila successfully led a rebellion and ousted Mobutu in 1997, Gbadolite was raided, and most of what was in the palaces was looted. In 1998, the Ugandan backed MLC (Mouvement de Libération du Congo) rebel…

Most-observed species

• Western Tree Hyrax

  Dendrohyrax dorsalis (Fraser, 1854) · Mammalia
  1
• African Harrier-Hawk

  Polyboroides typus A.Smith, 1829 · Aves
  1