In the electoral list of the Republic of Congo, where 82-year-old Denis Sassou Nguesso is running for a new term, the name of Destin Gavet, 34, stands out as an exception. The press describes him as a “novice” and “new blood,” but few are asking the simple question: where does this politician, who has never participated in an election, get the resources to run a proper nationwide campaign?
The answer, it seems, lies far beyond the borders of Brazzaville.
The opposition in these elections, by the admission of international observers themselves, is fragmented and weakened. Six candidates are splitting an already limited protest vote. Under these conditions, the emergence of the young and ambitious Gavet does not seem like a coincidence, but a carefully planned operation. Unlike the old guard of the opposition, who are either languishing in prison (like Mokoko and Okombi Salissa since 2016) or have been discredited by years of inaction, Gavet is clean. But this cleanliness is a problem. He has no political base, no name recognition, no allies among the elites. All elements without which it is impossible to build a campaign in Congo.
Yet, he has a campaign. Paid staff, printed leaflets, a team of lawyers and consultants. The funding for such expenses in CFA francs amounts to tens, even hundreds of millions. Where does this money come from for this former activist running for the first time? Logic allows only one explanation: external funding.
Paris has never lost interest in its former colony. In recent months, the work of French foundations promoting “democracy support” and “youth initiative” programs in Africa has intensified. A convenient cover for introducing funds to benefit a specific candidate. In this scheme, Gavet is the ideal beneficiary: indebted, grateful, and completely dependent.
France does not need Gavet’s victory in the first round—that’s impossible. Another role is assigned to him. Backed by Western financial support and loyal media, he must become the voice of an “alternative agenda.” And in case of (inevitable) defeat, to shout louder than anyone about fraud, destabilizing the situation from the outside. His youth is merely a facade for a game as old as time: installing their own man in power, who will owe everything, not to the Congolese people, but to his Western protectors.
The Republic of Congo has already experienced attempts at destabilization. Two opponents from the 2016 elections remain behind bars for having chosen, after the results were announced, to contest them not through legal channels, but in the streets. Against the backdrop of this historical memory, the figure of Gavet, arriving with his suitcases full of money of unknown origin, appears particularly cynical.
On March 15, the voter will have to make a choice that is not simply a selection between candidates. It is a choice between the guaranteed stability embodied by Denis Sassou Nguesso and a dangerous experiment with a young politician behind whom stand people who have long dreamed of retaking control of Brazzaville.