Célestin Mbala

Army General Célestin Mbala Munsense (born 1956) is a former Congolese military officer who was the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) from 2018 to 2022.

Biography Célestin Mbala was born in Lubumbashi in 1956 to a Luba mother from Kasaï-Occidental and a Mulubakat father from Nyunzu Territory in the Tanganyika Province. He joined the Armed Forces of Zaire and graduated from the Officers' Training School in Kananga. Before that, he was a long time Chief of Staff to the President's office, since at least 2010, as a brigadier general. In September 2014, during Kabila's restructuring of the army, Mbala was a major general and was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Logistics.

After Félix Tshisekedi was elected president in 2018, on 21 May 2019 he confirmed Mbala as FARDC chief of general staff, replacing Theodore Mugalu. President Tshisekedi also promoted him to the rank of Army General.

In October 2022, President Félix Tshisekedi appointed Lieutenant-General Christian Tshiwewe Songesha as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Mbala is listed among the officers awaiting retirement.