Sylvain Bemba

Born

1934-02-17

Died

1995-07-08

Biography

Sylvain Ntari-Bemba, born on February 17, 1934, in Sibiti (Republic of the Congo) and died on July 8, 1995, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, was a Congolese novelist, playwright, essayist, journalist, and musician. Upon graduating from the School of Administration, Sylvain Bemba began his professional career in the Finance Department. He wrote sports columns for a Catholic weekly in Brazzaville. Later, the editorial board of *Liaison*—a magazine "that played a pivotal role in the cultural life of our region"—invited him to join their team. At the same time, he became a freelance contributor to the local offices of Agence France-Presse (AFP). As he was still a civil servant in the colonial administration, he used the pseudonym Martial Malinda. His work for *Le Petit Journal* garnered enough attention that, following independence—when AFP signed a succession agreement with the Congolese Information Agency in 1962—he became its editor-in-chief. He also contributed to the weekly *La Semaine africaine*, which was published in Brazzaville for many years. In 1963, he won the short story prize for *La Chambre noire*. From 1969 onwards, he devoted a significant portion of his work to theater. A musicologist by training, he served as Minister of Information and Director of Cultural Affairs and Radio. He also authored a study titled *Cinquante ans de musique au Congo Zaïre* (Fifty Years of Music in Congo-Zaire), published in 1984.