Joachim Yhombi-Opango

[3] Under President Marien Ngouabi, Yhombi-Opango was Army Chief of Staff (with the rank of major); he was suspended from that position on 30 July 1970, but subsequently restored to it.

[7] Accused of attempting to form a "rightist faction" in the PCT, he was subsequently held in detention for several years by his successor, President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

[8] In addition to being placed under house arrest, he was expelled from the PCT and his property was confiscated in 1979; furthermore, he was demoted from the rank of general to that of private, according to an announcement on 20 October 1979.

[9] Sassou Nguesso announced Yhombi-Opango's release when the former was sworn in for a second term as president on 10 November 1984,[8][10] citing "the interest of national unity and peace".

[10] Sassou Nguesso announced his release, along with all other political prisoners, on 14 August 1990, in a move marking the 30th anniversary of Congolese independence.

[13] Afterwards, Yhombi-Opango was the candidate of his party, the Rally for Democracy and Development (RDD), in the August 1992 presidential election, taking sixth place with 3.49% of the vote.

In December 2001, Yhombi-Opango joined two other exiled politicians, Lissouba and Bernard Kolélas, in rejecting the electoral process begun under Sassou-Nguesso, saying that it was not transparent.

[25][27] Claudine Munari, who had been Director of the Cabinet, said in defense of the accused that there was no alternative to the deal and that the money was actually used to pay wage arrears and organize the 1993 parliamentary election.

[26] At a meeting of the RDD Steering Committee on 8 September 2007, Yhombi-Opango reassumed the leadership of the party from interim president Saturnin Okabé and Secretary-General Martial Mathieu Kani.

[31] Télé Congo, the country's national television station, re-confirmed the information during its evening news show.