On January 16, 2001, the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was assassinated.

On January 16, 2001, the head of state, defense minister and leader of the Alliance for the Liberation of Democratic Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in the presidential palace and died on 18 January.

Laurent Désiré Kabila, also known as Laurent Kabila (November 27, 1939 ¨C January 18, 2001), was the third president of Democratic Congo. On May 17, 1997, armed forces led by the Democratic Liberation Forces Alliance took over the capital of Kinshasa and announced his presidency. On January 16, 2001, Kabila was assassinated by his subordinate officer Rashidi Kasereka, and two days later it was proven that there was no death in Zimbabwe. The assassination was considered part of a coup attempt. A week later, his son, Joseph Kabila, returned to Congo to succeed as president.