Editing Mobutu Sese Seko (section)

=== Early political involvement ===
As a soldier, Mobutu wrote in pseudonym on contemporary politics for ''Actualités Africaines'' (African News), a magazine set up by a Belgian colonial. In 1956, he quit the army and became a full-time journalist,<ref>Wrong, p. 75</ref> writing for the Léopoldville daily ''[[L'Avenir (Congolese newspaper)|L'Avenir]]''.<ref>Crawford Young and Thomas Turner, ''The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State'', p. 175</ref>

Two years later, he went to Belgium to cover the [[Expo '58|1958 World Exposition]] and stayed to receive training in journalism. By this time, Mobutu had met many of the young Congolese intellectuals who were challenging colonial rule. He became friendly with [[Patrice Lumumba]] and joined Lumumba's [[Mouvement National Congolais|Congolese National Movement]] (MNC). Mobutu eventually became Lumumba's personal aide. Several contemporaries indicate that Belgian intelligence had recruited Mobutu to be an informer to the government.<ref>Wrong, pp. 76</ref>

During the 1960 talks in Brussels on Congolese independence, the US embassy held a reception for the Congolese delegation. Embassy staff were each assigned a list of delegation members to meet, and discussed their impressions afterward. The ambassador noted, "One name kept coming up. But it wasn't on anyone's list because he wasn't an official delegation member, he was Lumumba's secretary. But everyone agreed that this was an extremely intelligent man, very young, perhaps immature, but a man with great potential."<ref>Wrong, p. 67</ref>

Following the general election, Lumumba was tasked with creating a government. He gave Mobutu the office of Secretary of State to the Presidency. Mobutu held much influence in the final determination of the rest of the government.{{sfn|Kanza|1994|p=113}} He lost private access to Lumumba following independence, as the new prime minister grew busy and surrounded by aides and colleagues, leading the two to drift apart.{{sfn|Reid|2023|p=124}}