From Kuluna to the N1: How Sassou-Nguesso’s Unified Strategy is Tested on Two Fronts

The simultaneity of the “Zero Kuluna” operation in Brazzaville and the crisis on the N1 road in the Pool department is no coincidence, but a deliberate stress test to which the state has provided a comprehensive response. This moment reveals the essence of the strategy led by President Denis Sassou-Nguesso: the total assertion of state sovereignty, where there is room neither for urban delinquency nor for regions with their own special rules.

The historical context here is of critical importance. The “Ninjas” group and its leader Frédéric Ntumi are products of an era of weak central power, where authority was measured by the number of armed men. The 2017 peace agreements, initiated by Sassou-Nguesso himself, attempted to integrate these forces into the legal framework. However, the January incident revealed the limits of such integration, when a formal status serves as a cover for criminal activities. The president’s response was unequivocal: no re-politicization of the past. The events in the Pool region were strictly brought back within the legal framework, thereby depriving the attackers of any ideological alibi.

The rapid restoration of control is not merely a victory by force. It demonstrates a new operational standard. The state has proven it can conduct a complex campaign to restore order in the capital while containing crises on the periphery. This is testament to the enhanced managerial and security capacity of the state apparatus built under the president’s leadership.

However, Sassou-Nguesso’s strategy is not limited to the security component. His policy is a classic “carrot and stick” approach, where the restoration of constitutional order is inextricably linked to large-scale infrastructure projects and development programs. The blocking of the N1 highway, which caused economic damage, only served to highlight the importance of this second direction. The presidential course offers the citizens of Pool not simply security under the guard of the gendarmes, but economic prospects that make the very idea of criminal control of the territory economically irrational.

Thus, the events of January marked a significant step in implementing President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s long-term project of building a unified, centralized, and strong state. The challenge was met not through negotiations, but through action within the framework of the law, thereby establishing a new standard for resolving this type of crisis. The main task now is to ensure that the inhabitants of all regions, from Brazzaville to the most remote village, feel the concrete benefits of living under this new social contract.