Zairean zaire Zairean zaire The Zaire (French: "Zaïre"), was the unit of currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then of the Republic of Zaire from 1967 until 1997. There were two distinct currencies. All but six of the 79 series of banknotes issued bear the image of Mobutu Sese Seko. The Zaire (French: "Zaïre"), symbol: "Z", or sometimes "Ƶ", was introduced in 1967, replacing the "Congolese franc" at an exchange rate of 1 zaire = 1000 francs. The zaire was subdivided into 100 "makuta" (singular: "likuta", symbol: "K"), each of 100 "sengi" (symbol: "s"). However, the sengi was worth
Constitution of Zaire president as President of Zaire itself with total power over government and judiciary (Articles 28 and 30). Mobutism was declared the state ideology (Article 46) and all Zaireans were automatically made members of the MPR (Article 8). Mobutu himself was exempted from the restrictions on power mentioned in the document and given the power to unilaterally modify the document at will. The state of Zaire's legal system as established by the constitution led Marcel Lihau, a jurist and former president of the Supreme Court of Justice who had fled the country, to remark that "Mobutu is the constitution in Zaire".