Mobutu’s Game is a political thriller documentary about the Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Both a child of Belgian colonialism and the Cold War, Mobutu played, for more than thirty years, an extraordinarily complex political game. With remarkable skill, he strove to preserve national unity while serving the geostrategic interests of the West. By erecting a barrier against communism in Africa, he guaranteed Western powers continuous access to Congo’s boundless natural resources.
 

Long regarded as merely a puppet of the West, Mobutu emerges in this documentary series as a formidable political strategist, often capable of reversing power dynamics to his advantage and manipulating Western powers. Yet this balancing act came at a tremendous human cost: the Congolese population lived under the terror of a brutal dictatorship, trapped in persistent poverty, while Mobutu and his inner circle enriched themselves by plundering the country and institutionalizing corruption. To make matters worse, the people were compelled to worship Mobutu as a deity, everywhere and at all times.
 

Through unprecedented testimonies—gathered from both his supporters and his opponents—Mobutu’s Game plunges us, with a tension rarely seen in documentary filmmaking, into a chilling chapter of contemporary history, whose repercussions continue to haunt the Democratic Republic of Congo today.
 

Mobutu’s Game is a four-part documentary series directed by Wendy Bashi, Guillaume Graux, and Joost Vandensande, produced by Panenka in co-production with VRT Canvas, RTBF, Les Films de la Passerelle, and Proximus. The original score is composed by Laryssa Kim.