Mobutu

¹ British

/ məˈbuːtuː /

noun

the former name (until 1997) of Lake Albert 1 See Albert 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Mobutu ² British

/ məˈbuːtuː /

noun

Sese Seko (ˈsɛsɛ ˈsɛkəʊ), original name Joseph. 1930–97, Zaïrese statesman; president of Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) (1970–97); accused of corruption and overthrown by rebels in 1997; died in exile

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Five years later, he played a role in helping Mobutu Sese Seko - the authoritarian leader who seized power in 1965 - gain control in a military coup.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025

Under Mobutu, that then morphed into an extractive enterprise, where informal access to the corridors of power allowed individuals to fill their bank accounts with the proceeds from those resources.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

His son, Nzanga Mobutu, acknowledged that the exhibition, "Mobutu, A Life, A Destiny", skirts the darker side of his father's time in power.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

In 1997, he was part of the Rwanda-backed forces who ended up seizing power in DR Congo, ousting long-serving ruler Mobutu Sese Seko.

From BBC • Feb. 9, 2025

They’ve risked Mobutu and every imaginable parasite in the backwater places where children were left to die or endure when the Underdowns and their ilk fled the country.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023