The Congo: Death of a Rebel

In the bizarre, rebellion-plagued history of the Congo since independence, Pierre Mulele authored one of the bloodier chapters. Almost five years ago, he launched a revolt against the "profiteers of independence"—the central government—and within months led his ill-equipped but relatively well-disciplined bands to control much of rich Kwilu province in the interior.

Mulele's men, who called themselves the Jeunesse, were fired by a strange mixture of leftist dogma and African magic, which they used time and again to put the superstitious Congolese National Army to flight. With shouts of Mulele mai (Water of Mulele), they threw themselves into battle, convinced...