Laure-Marie Kawanda

Laure-Marie Kayena (born Laure-Marie Kawanda Kayena, on August 17, 1957, in Kikwit, Leopoldville province) is a pharmacist, politician and former Minister of Transport and Communications, from Congo-Kinshasa.

[1][2] Laure-Marie Kawanda Kayena was born on August 17, 1957, in Kikwit, Leopoldville province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

She held several positions in the government and public enterprises, notably in the Gizenga I and Muzito II governments, where she became Minister of Transport and Communications on February 19, 2010.

Her dismissal pertained to controversies surrounding the sinking of a boat on a river in north-western Democratic Republic of Congo that saw 50 people are dead and 35 others missing.

She has been married since 1986 to Gabriel Kalassa M'siri, a training journalist turned diplomat who works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo.