Mr. 25%: When Kabila turns the State into a private current account

They sold us 25%. Not 50, not 100. Just 25% , like an occupation tax. Like a post-presidency pension. A figure that became a nickname. A nickname that became a method: Joseph Kabila, former president of the DRC, now a secret businessman , behind the scenes collecting a quarter of the national wealth through nominees, financial schemes, and shell companies.

And when the truth comes out, it's not through a trial or a judicial investigation. It's in a clandestine video, where a certain Fortunata “Tina” Ciaparrone , an Italian citizen, sits down at the table. The plot revealed by Mediapart.

TINA: Word, word, word

Tina Ciaparrone is no fiction. She's real. A 60-year-old Italian, long-time resident of Kinshasa, she runs several companies in the oil, mining, and infrastructure sectors. And most importantly, she speaks.

In leaked videos, she details her role as a front for Joseph Kabila. She officially claims to own 100% of several companies, but in truth, she herself claims: “25% belongs to Kabila.”

SOGEMIP Mining, CIIG, SOTEXKI, Texico, Coete Gaz… All these companies, she says, are under the indirect control of the former president. No need for public contracts: the Kabila network already owns the upstream and downstream sectors.

A bleaching factory: 8 million in one day

One chilling passage: Tina describes a fictitious transaction between SOGEMIP and LIU Resources—the entry and exit of a company in a single day. The goal: to launder $8 million.

"SOGEMIP entered, and exited the same day. It sold its 35% stake. This amounted to $8 million."

The scene is described with disconcerting naturalness, as if laundering millions were routinely part of power. As if the state itself had become a financial recycling mechanism.

And in this video, Kabila is mentioned by name. Tina explains how he gave her direct instructions. This is no longer a suspicion. It's a recorded confession.

A cash machine against a backdrop of oil and minerals

The companies in question are not small, local SMEs. SOGEMIP is a giant in the extractive sector. It holds stakes in oil blocks estimated at $15 billion, alongside giants like PERENCO and ENI.

And that's not all: SOGEMIP Mining also mines cobalt, copper, lithium, and manganese in Lualaba, a region vital to the global energy transition.

Translation: When the world talks about green energy, Kabila , on the other hand, takes it in silence.

From “CONGO HOLD-UP” to “CONGO HOLD-ON”

These revelations add to what the "Congo Hold-Up" investigation had already uncovered: more than 140 million euros siphoned off via the BGFI bank, and massive transfers to Kabila's close associates. What's new here is the testimony of an intermediary who confirms this, with video support.

And what is the Congolese state doing? Nothing. No search, no public inquiry, no parliamentary commission.

Even worse: according to several sources, Kabila is now holed up in the east, protected by the M23 rebels, an armed group accused of atrocities. A former president hiding among militiamen, while he collects the dividends of a state he destroyed.

Humiliation by percentage

25%. That's the price of a country held hostage. Not 100% dictatorship, no: just a quarter of well-calculated predation, enough to control, block, and absorb.

And while the Democratic Republic of Congo is dying at the hands of this predatory elite, the children of Goma are washing themselves with river water, hospitals are running out of syringes, and teachers' salaries are stagnating at $40.

Congo is bleeding. And Kabila is counting.