Joachim Yhombi Opango, the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has died after contracting the COVID 19 virus.
His son has spoken out saying that Yhombi Opango passed away on Monday, 30th of March in Paris, France. The son said his father already had an underlying illness before contracting the virus.
Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango was born on the 12th of January 1938 in Owando, formerly Fort Russet, in the Northern region of Congo, formerly known as Zaire.
Jacques Joachim Yhombi Opango was the army chief of staff when President Marien Ngouabi was the president from 1969 – 1977. He was temporarily suspended from that position and later restored in 1970.
In 1973, he became a Colonel officer and a member of the PCT’s political Bureau. After the assassination of President Marien Ngouabi in 1977, Joachim Yhombi Opango became the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He served as the Head of State for two years and was forced to resign from the position in 1979. Afterwards, he served as the prime minister of the country from 1993 to 1996 after joining the RDD (Rally for Democracy and Development) political party.
In 2001, Joachim Yhombi Opango was exiled and later sentenced to 20 years of hard labour after being convicted of embezzlement and corruption.