Palais de la Nation and Laurent-Desire Kabila Mausoleum (view only)

The Palais de la Nation stands on the riverside along Avenue Roi Baudouin and Boulevard du 30 Juin in Gombe, Kinshasa. Begun in 1956 as the residence of the Belgian governor-general to a design by Marcel Lambrichs, it is the building where the independence of the Congo was proclaimed on 30 June 1960 and where Patrice Lumumba gave his celebrated speech. It has been the presidential residence since 2001, and Laurent-Desire Kabila's mausoleum, unveiled in January 2002, stands at its entrance. The palace is a working seat of power and is not open to the public, and there is no ticketing or guided access. Visitors can see the exterior only from the public road, and the usual approach is a drive-by of five to ten minutes in a vehicle. Stopping, loitering or walking around the perimeter is not advisable: the area is guarded by security forces, and photographing the palace, its guards or nearby official installations can attract unwelcome attention or lead to questioning. Visitors who want a photograph should ask the driver whether it is acceptable at that moment and should never use a camera if told not to. The building is a sober modernist composition with long horizontal lines facing the river, and its significance is historical rather than architectural: it frames a story of independence, the Lumumba era and decades of political change in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Because there is nothing to enter, the most useful way to see it is as part of a tour of Gombe that also takes in the Gare Centrale, Eglise Sainte-Anne and the river road. Daytime is the only sensible time, and visitors should avoid the area on days of national ceremonies or demonstrations when roads close. Yango or a private driver is the way to go, and the driver should be briefed beforehand to keep moving along the road.