One American is dead and another was taken into custody after a coup attempt against the autocratic government of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The botched uprising, which started early on Sunday (May 19), resulted in the deaths of two police officers and one of the attackers, later identified as Christian Malanga, a Salt Lake City resident who came to the US in 1998 as a political refugee.

The 41-year-old Utah resident was reportedly joined by his son, 21-year-old Marcel Malanga, who remains captive in the central African nation along with some 50 people involved in the incident, as per Reuters.

One American is dead and another was taken into custody after a coup attempt against the autocratic government of President Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo 

Image credits: The Free Press Journal

Image credits: The Free Press Journal

Gunfire rang out around 4 a.m. in the capital, Kinshasa, a Reuters reporter said. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city center, according to spokesman Sylvain Ekenge.

Another attack took place at the nearby home of Vital Kamerhe, a member of parliament who is tipped to become speaker.

“The Honorable Vital Kamerhe and his family are safe and sound,” declared Kamerhe’s spokesman, Michel Moto, in a message published on his X profile.

41-year-old Utah resident Christian Malanga and his son, 21-year-old Marcel Malanga, were involved in the coup

Image credits: Marcel Malanga

Image credits: Marcel Malanga

Malanga was reportedly “neutralized” during the incident and was later identified as the leader of the attempted coup. 

Benjamin Zalman-Polun, a 36-year-old cannabis “entrepreneur” from Maryland who acted as Malanga’s right-hand man, was also seized by Congolese authorities.

Malanga moved to the US alongside his parents and his five siblings, according to his father Joseph’s obituary, as per the DailyMail. The family lived in one of the poorest sections of the DRC capital of Kinshasa.

Eight years after arriving in Utah, Malanga returned to his homeland in order to do military service, rising to the rank of captain by 2007. During this period, he had at least 235 soldiers under his command. 

After unsuccessful efforts to enter politics in the DRC, Malanga returned to the US in 2012. Despite being in exile, he remained actively involved in the country’s political affairs. 

Christian Malanga, founder of the United Congolese Party and leader of the failed uprising, was killed

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) armed forces repelled an attempted coup d’etat involving Congolese and foreign fighters on Sunday morning, a DRC army spokesperson said in a televised address..The army announces the arrest of American mercenaries. pic.twitter.com/Lfsv5FvINw

— African News feed. (@africansinnews) May 19, 2024

He founded a political party, the United Congolese Party, that gained popularity among exiled Congolese natives.

On his website, Malanga wrote that his time in the DRC military turned him against the government, as he witnessed corruption and a lack of concern for Congolese citizens.

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