SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A friend of the son of a prominent opposition leader in Congo says the son turned down a six-figure offer to travel there from the United States to serve as a security guard for the family. A failed coup attempt.
Marcel Malanga, the 21-year-old son of eccentric coup leader Christian Malanga, was detained by Congolese troops on Sunday morning along with a former classmate from his hometown of West Jordan, Utah, after his father was killed in a shootout while resisting arrest. His high school football teammate, Tyler ThompsonThe 21-year-old was the only one to American He was arrested after an ill-fated raid on the presidential palace in Kinshasa.
That attack, and others on homes of close Iranian allies, left six people dead, including three Americans, and dozens arrested. President Felix TshisekediCongolese army spokesman Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge said:
Daniel Gonzalez, a former teammate of the pair from Utah who was caught up in the attempted coup, told The Associated Press that Marcel offered him $50,000 to $100,000 to work in Congo for four months as a security guard for his politician father. The 22-year-old FedEx worker said he seriously considered it but didn't have any concrete details. He ultimately turned it down to spend the summer with his girlfriend.
“I feel really sad for Tyler and Marcel, but at the end of the day I'm glad I didn't go because I would have ended up in the same horrible situation,” Gonzalez said.
Marcel's big offer to Gonzalez explains how he lured Thompson onto a trip that his mother-in-law, Miranda, had described as a vacation.
It was one of a number of proposals the coup leader's American son had made to his former soccer teammates in what many described as a desperate effort to get someone to Congo. He pitched the trip to some as a family trip and to others as a service trip to build wells in drought-stricken areas.
It is unclear whether Thompson was offered any money, but multiple teammates told The Associated Press that he had hinted at such incentives, telling one friend that the trip could be a “great financial opportunity.”
Thompson's family claims he is a political pawn drawn into an international conflict under false pretenses, and his stepmother said they have not had direct contact with their son since the coup and are worried about his safety.
Marcel's mother, Brittney Sawyer, said her son is innocent and has been going after his father.
Slain Congolese opposition leader Christian Malanga considered himself president of a shadow government-in-exile that he called “New Zaire.” On his website, he described himself as a refugee who settled in Salt Lake City with his family in the 1990s, pursued business opportunities in gold mining and selling used cars, and eventually returned to Congo to fight for political reform.
He claimed he was imprisoned and subjected to torture-like beatings while running for the Congolese parliament. He later released a manifesto outlining his plans to reform Congo's security services and described his movement as an effort to organize fellow migrants against “the current Congolese dictatorial regime.”
“Marcel hasn't been very secretive about his father. He didn't really know him that well until we spent last summer in Africa,” Gonzalez says. “Marcel had no idea what was coming up for us or he would never have asked us. He's one of my best friends.”
Early Sunday morning, suspect Christian Malanga began livestreaming on social media from inside the palace. He is shown with his armed son, who hastily pulls a neck gaiter over his face and looks around with wide eyes. Congolese authorities have not commented on how the attackers got inside.
Gonzalez, who lives in Herriman, Utah, said he had exchanged Snapchat messages with Marcel about an offer of money several months before the attempted coup, but that the messages have since disappeared. He said he was shocked to learn how the trip unfolded.
Marcel had told Gonzalez that his father had allowed him to hire a friend so he would have a chaperone for his summer vacations abroad, and Marcel seemed excited about being able to provide a large sum of money to a close friend in need, Gonzalez explained.
Marcel said the Malangas promised him hands-on training, all-expenses-paid travel and the chance to explore new parts of the world while earning an income. They repeatedly assured him he was safe but declined to share details about his father's background.
Neither Gonzalez nor his mother believed the trip was dangerous, despite strong warnings from the U.S. State Department. People are urged to refrain from traveling to Congo — but he refused after his girlfriend asked him not to leave her for four months.
Gonzalez then watched a private Snapchat video taken by Marcel, which showed Thompson cowering as armed Congolese soldiers surrounded their car. In Gonzalez's final Snapchat exchange with a friend before his capture, Thompson asked if he was OK and urged him to stay safe.
Marcel assured him that it was.
Other former football teammates, including Luke Barbee and Jayden Lalor, also heard different stories about the trip and wondered why Marcel was so desperate to take someone with him. Neither could imagine their friends could be involved in a violent attack.
“Marcel is my brother and Tyler is my friend and I truly believe Marcel's father pressured them for his own personal gain,” Lalor said. “I just want them to come home safe.”
