Reporting on the Independence of the Belgian Congo: Mwissa Camus, the Dean of Congolese Journalists

Many individuals were involved in the Belgian Congo's attainment of independence. Born in 1931, Mwissa Camus, the dean of Congolese journalists, is one of them. Even though he was opposed to this idea and struggled to maintain his status as member of a certain ?elite?, his career sheds light on the advancement of his country towards independence in June 1960. By following his professional career in the years preceding independence, we can see how his development illuminates the emergence of journalism in the Congo, the social position of Congolese journalists, and the ambivalence of their position towards the emancipation process. The road taken by Mwissa Camus ? as an actor, witness, extra, and somehow instrument of the events that shook his country ? helps understand the Congo's move towards independence from a particular perspective. History ? that of a hurried independence, blatantly unprepared, on which a small elite failed to agree ? is revealed through his words and the unveiling of his ?world.? This article is essentially based on interviews with Mwissa Camus and on Congolese newspaper articles from 1959, 1960 and 1961.