Updated November 23, 2025 at 4:00 AM MST

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Young people gaze up at large photographs of Mobutu Sese Seko, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) national museum.

A charismatic and outrageously corrupt former dictator, Mobutu seized power in the 1960s and ruled the country with an iron fist for over 30 years. At the height of his power, Mobutu was courted by royalty and presidents — and put Zaire on the map with the legendary Rumble in the Jungle , the 1974 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

Bettmann Archive / Bettmann via Getty / Bettmann via Getty

But in today's Congo, which is politically unstable and plagued by seemingly endless armed conflict, there's a growing sense of nostalgia for the comparatively peaceful yea

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