Constitution of Zaire Constitution of Zaire The Constitution of Zaire (), was promulgated on 15 August 1974, revised on 15 February 1978, and amended on 5 July 1990. Defining state power as an extension of the individual powers of Mobutu Sese Seko, the 1974 constitution codified Zaire as a one-party dictatorship and enshrined the status of Mobutism as the state ideology, together with the dominant position of the ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution (MPR) party. The 1974 constitution was the third in the Congo's post-independence history, replacing earlier constitutions adopted to replace the original basic law of 1960, adopted in 1964 and
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".