The United States has officially removed retired four-star General François Olenga and his Safari Club from its sanctions list, ending a nine-year blacklisting that had restricted his dealings with American citizens and entities.
OFAC notification confirms removal
Attorney Aimé Kilolo Musamba announced the decision in a statement dated September 23, confirming that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had lifted the measures against his client.
“The US Treasury Department officially notified me of OFAC’s decision to remove General François Olenga Tete and Safari Club from the American sanctions list,” Kilolo said in the statement.
The lawyer described the outcome as the culmination of more than nine years of work, travel and advocacy, including multiple trips to Washington to argue the case before US institutions.
A long legal battle ends
Kilolo said he had consistently maintained that the evidence did not justify keeping the sanctions in place. He framed the result as proof that an African lawyer can mount a high-level international defense, navigate the complex legal mechanisms of major powers and make a client’s arguments heard.
Beyond the individual case, Kilolo argued that the experience carries lessons for all Congolese. He said the Democratic Republic of Congo must shake off its lethargy on international sanctions, particularly in the face of crimes committed in the east of the country.
Call for a national sanctions framework
According to Kilolo, Kinshasa cannot keep waiting for individual and financial sanctions to come almost exclusively 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 targeted sanctions, in compliance with the rule of law and the rights of the defense, against persons and entities involved in international crimes committed on its territory,” he said.
He added that sovereignty also means a state’s ability to implement the legal instruments needed to protect its population and fundamental interests. “The law has no borders when the defense is carried with competence, constancy and determination. But international justice should not be a responsibility that Congo abandons to others,” he observed from Brussels, where he resides.
Background: why Olenga was blacklisted
General Olenga was placed on Washington’s financial blacklist in June 2017, while he headed the close protection detail of former President Joseph Kabila. His assets were frozen and he was barred from traveling to the United States.
The US administration accused him of obstructing the democratic process in the country, which had been mired in crisis since Kabila remained in power after his mandate expired in December 2016.
According to the US Treasury at the time, the Republican Guard under his control had harassed political opponents, carried out arbitrary arrests and executions, and hindered the work of UN observers.
Since then, Olenga not only saw any potential assets in the United States frozen, but was also unable to conduct business with American entities or individuals. The measure had also hit his prestigious Safari Beach tourist complex, located in N’sele.
What the delisting means
With the sanctions lifted, General Olenga can now interact with American citizens and entities. Safari Club can also receive American visitors, reopening a door that had been closed for nearly a decade.
