A 21-year-old American is believed to have made his first-ever trip abroad when he found himself ’embedded’ in a failed coup attempt in Congo before appearing in a video to beg for his life – his fate being still unknown.
Fifty people, including three Americans, have been arrested as part of a wild plot to overthrow the Congolese government – led by Christian Malanga, 41, who was shot dead during Sunday’s failed uprising.
The U.S. citizens captured for their alleged involvement in the failed effort were identified as Tyler Thompson, 21, convicted marijuana trafficker Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun and the son of Malanga, the high school football player of the Utah, Marcel Malanga, 21 years old.
Thompson’s stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told ABC News that her stepson traveled overseas for the first time last month to see the family of his close friend Marcel – with whom his teammates said he He had played high school football in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan, Utah. .
She added that it was also the first time he had flown alone.
It is unclear what role, if any, Thompson played in the failed coup.
According to Thompson’s family, they thought he was on vacation in South Africa when the shocking incident happened.
Miranda claimed that in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, Thompson informed them that the vacation had been interrupted by an attack of malaria and that Malanga had offered to cover the expenses necessary to extend the trip and “make up time lost,” reports ABC News.
She said she was not aware of their plans to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We have no idea how he got involved in all of this. He was on vacation with his friend’s family and the next thing we know he was arrested in the DRC. We don’t know what caused him to be there or how he got there,” she told The Times of London.
“All we know about Marcel is that he was a kind and respectful child, that’s a completely different thing from everything we know about him.”
She said that when she later saw footage of him being detained and beaten by Congolese soldiers, she felt “complete and utter shock”.
“It doesn’t feel real,” she said.
“We are stunned and heartbroken by the videos we have seen of the attempted coup.
“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.
Video footage of the arrests widely shared on social media shows Thompson with a terrified look on his bloodied face as he is surrounded by Congolese soldiers.
After Thompson appeared to beg for his life, he and Marcel were forced to stand while soldiers tied their hands behind their backs.
The Congolese government has not confirmed whether Thompson is still alive or if he was killed, leaving his loved ones in anguish.
Christian Malanga, who had been exiled from Congo to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen, led the United Congolese Party which describes itself as an “opposition political party in exile.”
Joined by armed men, Malanga appeared in a video broadcast live on Facebook the morning of the attack, accusing the government of President Félix Tshisekedi of doing “a lot of stupid things in this country”, according to Reuters.
Zalman-Polun was apparently linked to Marcel’s father through a gold mining company – suggesting that the uprising itself may have links to one or both industries.
A DRC government statement later praised the “rapid response” of DRC security forces who foiled the attack.
News Source : nypost.com
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