Clarke vs TKV: The Londoner TKV family’s astonishing story of bosses, intrigue and poisoning

The story begins with Jimmy’s grandfather, Andre Bruno Chikeva, a senior figure in the Zairian army in the 1950s, when the country was under Belgian rule.

“In France and Belgium people study my grandfather,” says Jamie.

According to the family, André Bruno was sent to Belgium and worked as a bodyguard for King Baudouin. When Zaire gained independence in 1960, he returned as a respected lieutenant in the army.

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

But in Mobutu’s Zaire, popularity was dangerous. In 1966 – in what became known as the “Pentecost Plot” – Mobutu ordered the public execution of four former ministers accused of plotting against him.

Mobutu saw André Bruno as a threat to his position, and loyalty was broken between them.

He was sent to Kolwezi, a remote but strategically important town – Jimmy Macasi’s father explains what happened next.

“My father had no idea, but Mobutu had organized it and everything was set to kill him,” says Makasi.

Shortly after his arrival, a rebel force overran the area.

“He killed some of these rebels, took his jeep and fled,” says Makasi. “He couldn’t understand why his people were fighting him.”

Back in Kinshasa, Andre Bruno was accused of enabling violence and killing innocent people. He was arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

Attempts on his life continued and the method eventually turned to poison. One of his ten wives was even paid to administer poisons.

After six years, Andre Bruno was released from prison in 1973 on compassionate grounds when one of his wives died, but the damage was irreparable.

“You can smell the toxins every time he goes to the toilet,” says Macasi.

“Two years later, with all the poison in his system, my father died.”