SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — The family of an American caught in a failed coup attempt in Congo, said their son was vacationing in Africa with family friends and had never engaged in political activism, according to a statement provided to the Associated Press.
Tyler Thompson was one of at least three Americans who were designated by the Congolese army as part of a failed effort to overthrow the government in Kinshasa early Sunday under the leadership of eccentric and self-exiled leader Christian Malanga. The other two Americans allegedly involved were a convicted marijuana trafficker, Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, and Malanga’s Utah-born son, Marcel, 21, who was arrested by Congolese forces.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by the videos we have seen of the attempted coup,” Thompson’s mother-in-law, Miranda Thompson, said in a direct message on the social media platform We have no idea how he found himself in this situation, which is completely unlike him. We are certain that he did not go to Africa with plans for political activism.
Malanga, the suspected leader, was shot dead after resisting arrest, the Congolese army said. A total of six people were killed in the attack on the presidential palace and another against the residence of a close ally of President Félix Tshisekedi.
Thompson had played high school football with Marcel Malanga in the Salt Lake City suburbs west of Jordan and was the only former teammate to accept his invitation to go to Congo, according to several other players who told the AP that they had been invited.
Marcel Malanga had suggested this trip to several of his high school friends in the months preceding the foiled coup attempt. Some said he invited them on a family vacation, while others, including his former football teammate Jaden Lalor, said he presented it as a service trip to build wells. His teammates recounted Marcel Malanga’s growing despair as his friends declined.
“He called me and asked if I wanted to go on vacation to Africa, and a few of my other friends, but he didn’t offer to take more than one of us to time,” said Luke Barbee, another former teammate who lived with Marcel Malanga last year. “He only asked a certain number of us because he kept getting turned down until Tyler said yes to the trip.”
Barbee was shocked to learn of his friends’ involvement in the attack and said it seemed out of character for the two young men.
Marcel Malanga had a strained relationship with his father, Lalor said, adding that he could have easily been pressured or manipulated into following his father’s plans.
“Marcel is a super respectful kid, a little rough around the edges, but not enough to murder people,” Lalor said. “I know they must have been brainwashed or forced to do this because Tyler was never one to be conflicted. He is one of the most laid back or relaxed kids you will ever meet.
Thompson’s mother-in-law said he was not politically engaged and was just excited to experience the world with his friend.
“He’s a good kid, a hard worker and a respectful young man,” she said. “We are so lost as to how he got into this mess.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the attack in a phone call with Tshisekedi on Wednesday and offered U.S. help in the investigation, according to a summary of the call.
The U.S. Embassy in Congo said Thursday it was still waiting for the Congolese government to provide proof that those arrested were American before it could provide them with consular services.
The Congolese government has not given a date for the suspects’ appearance in court.
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Donati reported from Dakar, Senegal.
News Source : apnews.com
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