OFAC delists General Olenga and Safari Club after nine years

OFAC removes General Olenga and Safari Club from sanctions list

The United States Treasury Department has officially notified retired four-star General François Olenga Tete that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has removed him and Safari Club from the American sanctions list. The decision, announced by his lawyer Aimé Kilolo Musamba in a statement dated September 23 and received on September 25, marks the end of more than nine years of sanctions.

With this delisting, General Olenga can now freely interact with American citizens and entities, and his Safari Beach complex can receive American visitors. The sanctions had previously frozen any assets he held in the United States and barred him from doing business with American individuals or companies.

Lawyer Aimé Kilolo Musamba: a nine-year legal battle ends

In the statement, Me Aimé Kilolo Musamba described the decision as the culmination of over nine years of work, including multiple trips to Washington to defend his client’s case before U.S. institutions.

“I have always maintained that the evidence did not justify keeping these sanctions against my client. Today, this long procedure comes to an end,” he wrote.

The lawyer also stressed that an African attorney can mount a top-level international defense, navigate the complex legal mechanisms of major powers, and make a client’s arguments heard. He believes this experience should benefit all Congolese.

Call for a national sanctions framework in the DRC

Me Kilolo argued that the Democratic Republic of Congo must emerge from its lethargy regarding international sanctions. He noted that in the face of international crimes committed in the eastern part of the country, the DRC cannot continue to rely almost exclusively on individual and financial sanctions from the United States or the European Union.

“Our country, the DRC, must equip itself with a national legislative framework allowing its own institutions to adopt, in compliance with the rule of law and the rights of the defense, targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in international crimes committed on its territory. Sovereignty also means a state’s ability to implement the legal instruments necessary to defend its population and fundamental interests. Law has no borders when defense is carried out with competence, constancy, and determination. But international justice should not be a responsibility that Congo abandons to others,” the lawyer observed from Brussels, where he is staying.

Background: why was General Olenga sanctioned in 2017?

General François Olenga was placed on Washington’s financial blacklist in June 2017 while serving as head of former President Joseph Kabila’s close security detail. His assets were frozen, and he was banned from traveling to the United States.

The U.S. administration accused him of obstructing the democratic process in the DRC, which had been plunged into crisis since Joseph Kabila remained in power after his mandate expired in December 2016.

“Under his control, the Republican Guard allegedly harassed political opponents, carried out arbitrary arrests and executions, and obstructed the work of UN observers,” the U.S. Treasury detailed in a statement.

Since then, General Olenga saw any potential assets in the United States frozen and was unable to establish business relationships with American entities or individuals. The measure also affected his prestigious tourist complex, Safari Beach, located in N’sele.

By Claire Mvondo — Security and State Policy Expert