


I didn't get there, but in thinking about African dictators, I was reminded of former President Mobutu's "Versailles in the Jungle", Gbadolite. In the tradition of dictators everywhere, Mobutu lavished attention and money on his hometown, building palaces, an international airport, a hydroelectric dam, and even, reportedly, a nuclear bunker (which didn't, in the end, help him). On Mobutu's ouster from power by Laurent Kabila in 1997, Gbadolite was raided and the palaces (and hospital, etc.) sacked ...
