Moshood Seko Mobutu
Running Out of Money, Time
Lagos, NG | Once a wealthy andgenerous philanthropist, Moshood Seko Mobutu now lives in the dumpster behind a Nigerian cyber cafe. His fortune has evaporated, his reputation is destroyed, and his limited computer privileges are dependent upon the generosity of strangers.
The first son of the late Mobutu Sese Seko, the former President of the Congo Republic, he has been a political refugee in Nigeria for the past five years. During that time, Mobutu has tried in vain to access his inheritance, held by a securities company in Amsterdam, Holland.
Mobutu's desperate efforts to find assistance to divest his portfolio, heavily weighted with technology millstones such as Enron, Worldcom, Adelphia and AOL, have been futile.
"Someone started a malicious rumor that I am a fraud," alleges Mobutu. "I am dismayed at such cruelty! I have watched the fortune of my beloved father dwindle to nothing." The value of his stock is now only a few hundred dollars, having plummeted from a reported $50 million.
The destitute Mobutu can no longer afford lodging, and has been reduced to panhandling in order to continue his fruitless attempts to find help from abroad over the internet.
"Some might say it is pointless for me to continue, but I have no choice," insists Mobutu. "At this juncture, I could really use the hundred dollars."
