Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Mobutu

Marie-Antoinette Mobutu (Marie-Antoinette Gbiatibwa Gogbe Yetene; c. 1941 in Banzyville – 22 October 1977 in Genolier, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland), also known as Mama Mobutu, was the first wife of Mobutu Sese Seko and First Lady of Zaire.

Biography Marie-Antoinette was an ethnic Ngbandi born in Banzyville (modern-day Mobayi-Mbongo) in the Équateur Province in 1941, while the Congo was still under Belgian colonial rule. She met and married Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, another Ngbandi, who was later a non-commissioned officer in the Force Publique, during 1955 at the age of 14. That same year, she gave birth to their first son, Jean-Paul "Nyiwa". She attended Catholic mission schools and supported the Catholic Church despite her husband's later struggle with the Catholic clergy.