The former chairman of Congo’s National Conference, which opened up the way to multiparty system in the country in 1991, Ernest Kombo, 67, has died in Paris, France, sources close to the family said Thursday. “Mgr Kombo died in Paris, at Val de Grâce Hospital of stomach cancer,” the sources said. Kombo had been living in Paris since 2007 because of his poor health which later worsened. First Jesuit priest, he was ordained in 1973 and since 1990, he led the diocese of Owondo in the northern part of the country. Leading the Episcopal Conference of Congo between 2003-2003, he got a new reputation by denouncing corruption, bad governance and the distribution of oil revenues, first resource of the country. Between February and June 1991, Kombo presided over the three months National Conference which allowed Congo to embrace multiparty system and led between 1991-1992 the High Council of the Republic – the Parliament of Transition.
