President Mobutu, 1982

Mobutu Sese Seko (Joseph Desire Mobutu) was born October 14, 1930 into the Ngbandi tribe in the northern village of Lisala in what was then the Belgian Congo. From 1949 to 1956 he served as a journalist in the Belgian colonial army, rising to sergeant major, the highest rank open to Africans. In 1965, Mobutu seized power permanently, declaring himself president. In 1972, he changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga (officially translated as "the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake.") He began to wear his signature leopard-skin hat.

Date of issue: March 1982

Expiration date:

Design:

Printing: Courvoisier S.A., La Chaux-De-Fonds, Zwitserland

Perforation: 12

Size: 25.5 x 35.7 mm

Sheet: 50? (The series of 1978 are all 100)

Marginal inscriptions: on top and bottom “Hélio Courvoisier, s.a., La Chaux De Fonds, (Suisse)”

Circulation:

Dominant color is indicated

No 1134. 50k, purple

No 1135. 2z, golden brown

No 1136. 5z, blue

The series:

The imperforated series is in size and coloring exact the same as above:

Remark: the white border around these stamps is much larger when cut from a side, top, bottom or corner of a sheet.

There are no variations or curiosities known for any of the above shown material.