Thread: US man seen begging for his life after failed Congo coup was on his first trip over

A 21-year-old American man was reportedly on his first trip overseas when he got “mixed up” in a failed coup attempt in Congo before appearing in a video to beg for his life — with his fate still unknown.


Fifty people, including three Americans, were detained over a wild plot to overthrow the Congolese government — led by Christian Malanga, 41, who was shot dead in the failed uprising Sunday.


The US citizens captured over their alleged involvement in the failed effort were identified as Tyler Thompson, 21, convicted marijuana trafficker Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun and Malanga’s son, Utah high school football player Marcel Malanga, 21.

Thompson’s stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told ABC News her stepson traveled overseas for the first time last month to see the family of his close friend Marcel — with whom teammates said he had played high school football in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan, Utah.


She added it was also the first time he had ever flown on his own.


It’s unclear what role, if any, Thompson had in the failed coup.


According to Thompson’s family, they thought he was on vacation in South Africa when the shocking incident unfolded.


Miranda claimed that while in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, Thompson informed them that the vacation had been interrupted by a bout of malaria and that Malanga had offered to cover expenses to extend the trip and “make up for lost time,” ABC News reports.


She said she was not made aware of any plans for them to travel to Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We have no idea how he got mixed up in all of this. He was on vacation with his friend’s family, and the next thing we know is he’s been arrested in the DRC. We don’t know what led up to him being there or how he got there,” she told the Times of London.


“Everything we know about Marcel is that he was a kind and respectful kid, this is a complete 180 from everything we know about him.”


She said that when she later saw images of him being detained and beaten by Congolese soldiers, she experienced “complete and utter shock.”


“It doesn’t feel real,” she said.

“We are stunned and heartbroken by the videos we have seen from the coup attempt.


“We have no idea how he got wrapped up in this situation, which is completely out of character for him. We are certain 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 up while soldiers tied their hands behind their backs.

The Congolese government has not confirmed whether Thompson is still alive, leaving his loved ones in anguish.


Christian Malanga, who had been exiled from Congo to the US, where he became a naturalized citizen, headed the United Congolese Party, which describes itself as an “opposition political party-in-exile.”

Joined by armed men, Malanga appeared in a livestreamed video posted on Facebook the morning of the attack accusing President Felix Tshisekedi’s government of doing “many stupid things in this country,” according to Reuters.


Zalman-Polun was apparently connected to Marcel’s father through a gold mining company — suggesting that the uprising itself may have had ties to either or both industries.


A DRC government statement later commended the “prompt reaction” of the DRC’s security forces in foiling the attack.

Tyler Thompson, caught in failed Congo coup, was on first trip overseas

Joined a coup…how did he think that would work out. What a silly, naive child.

Being brought up in a Salt Lake City suburb might leave one pretty clueless.

The US State Department warns people not to go to Congo with level 3 and 4 warnings. And that’s for people not even considering overthrowing the Congolese government.

Poor kid must have been bored out of his mind.

Utah man declined $100K offer to travel to Congo on 'security job' that was covert coup attempt

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The friend of a prominent Congolese opposition leader’s son said he turned down a six-figure offer to travel there from the U.S. as part of the family’s security detail in what turned out to be a failed coup attempt.


Marcel Malanga, the 21-year-old son of eccentric coup leader Christian Malanga, was detained by Congolese forces Sunday morning, along with a former classmate from their hometown of West Jordan, Utah, after his father was killed in a shootout while resisting arrest. His high school football teammate, Tyler Thompson, 21, was one of two other Americans arrested after an ill-fated attack on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.


Six people were dead and dozens arrested, including the three Americans, following that attack and another on the residence of a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi, the Congolese army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, said.


Daniel Gonzalez, a former teammate of the two Utah residents caught up in the foiled coup, told The Associated Press that Marcel had offered him $50,000 to $100,000 to spend four months in Congo as a security guard for his politician father. The 22-year-old FedEx worker strongly considered it, but said it lacked concrete details. He ultimately declined so he could spend the summer with his girlfriend.


“I feel really sad for Tyler and Marcel but, at the end of the day, I can just be grateful that I didn’t go because I would be stuck in the same scary situation,” Gonzalez said.


Marcel's lucrative offer to Gonzalez sheds light on how he might have enticed Thompson to come along on what his stepmother, Miranda, said was supposed to be a vacation.


It was one of many propositions the coup leader’s American son made to former football teammates in what many described as a desperate effort to bring someone with him to Congo. He pitched the trip to some as a family vacation and still to others as a service trip to build wells in drought-stricken communities.


Although it's unclear whether Thompson was offered money, multiple teammates told the AP that he had alluded to such incentives, telling one friend that the trip could be a “big financial opportunity."


Thompson's family insists he's a political pawn who was dragged into an international conflict under false pretenses. They've had no direct communication with their son since the coup and are worried for his safety, his stepmother said.


Marcel's mother, Brittney Sawyer, said her son is innocent and had followed his father.


Christian Malanga, the slain leader of the Congolese opposition political party, considered himself president of a shadow government in exile, which he called the “New Zaire." He described himself on his website as a refugee who settled in Salt Lake City with his family in the 1990s, pursuing business opportunities in gold mining and used car sales before eventually moving back to Congo to fight for political reforms.


While campaigning for the Congolese Parliament, he claimed he was jailed and endured torturous beatings. He later published a manifesto detailing plans to reform Congo’s security services and described his movement as an effort to organize fellow emigres against the “current Congolese dictatorship government regime.”


“Marcel was pretty secretive about his dad. He didn’t even know him well until he spent last summer in Africa,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no way Marcel had any idea what he’d be getting us into or he never would’ve offered. He’s one of the best friends a person could have.”


In the early hours Sunday, Christian Malanga began livestreaming video on social media from inside the palace. He is seen with his armed son, who hastily pulls a neck gaiter over his face, looking around wide-eyed. Congo officials have not commented on how the attackers were able to get inside.


Gonzalez, of Herriman, Utah, said he had communicated with Marcel about the financial offer over Snapchat, in messages that have since disappeared, in the months leading up to the coup attempt. He was shocked to learn how the trip played out.


Marcel had told Gonzalez that his father was letting him hire a friend so he would have company during his summer abroad. He seemed excited to be able to offer such a substantial amount of money to a close friend who needed it, Gonzalez explained.


The Malangas had promised on-the-job training, full coverage of travel expenses and the chance to explore a new part of the world while making an income, he said. Marcel insisted repeatedly that it was safe, but didn't share details about his father's background.


Neither Gonzalez nor his mother thought the trip would be unsafe, he said, despite the U.S. State Department strongly discouraging travel to Congo — but he turned it down when his girlfriend asked him not to leave for four months.


He later saw private Snapchat videos filmed by Marcel that showed Thompson looking frightened as armed Congolese soldiers surrounded their vehicle. In Gonzalez's final Snapchat exchange with his friend before their capture, he asked whether Thompson was OK and urged them to stay safe.


Marcel assured him that they were.


Other former football teammates, including Luke Barbee and Jaden Lalor, had heard different pitches about the trip and wondered why Marcel seemed so desperate to bring someone along. Neither could fathom their friends' possible involvement in a violent attack.


“I consider Marcel a brother to me and Tyler a friend, and I truly believe Marcel's father must have pressured them for his own wants,” Lalor said. “I just want them back safely.”

Utah man declined $100K offer to travel to Congo on 'security job' that was covert coup attempt

Originally Posted by cyrille

Being brought up in a Salt Lake City suburb might leave one pretty clueless.

There are a lot of odd folks out in Utah. It has a huge Mormon religious population and they get on these crusades thinking they can change the world. This lost clown probably sat and watched some vids, joined a movement and left with the idea he could help. He will quickly learn he isn't in Kansas anymore and he will be lucky to get home alive and with all his body parts.

Well there's a big clue.

Daniel Gonzalez, a former teammate of the two Utah residents caught up in the foiled coup, told The Associated Press that Marcel had offered him $50,000 to $100,000 to spend four months in Congo as a security guard for his politician father.