Photo of the day From the Stripes archives
 May 19, 2004
President and Mrs. Mobutu
Masahiko Nakamura ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, April 6, 1971: Anyone with an e-mail account is likely to be familiar with Mrs. Mobutu Sese Seko, whose endless offers (usually in capital letters) to share millions of dollars of her late husband's money have plagued many a computer screen in the past few months. Whoever is actually behind the notorious scam, here are the real Mrs. Mobutu and her husband, the president of the Congo then known as Joseph Désiré Mobutu, as they arrive in Tokyo for a state visit. While the e-mail scam has become something of a joke (except to the few who have fallen for it), Mobutu was no laughing matter. As the leader of what was sometimes referred to as a "kleptocracy," he amassed a large personal fortune while leading his nation into economic ruin.

RELATED MATERIAL
Click here to see more photos of the Mobutus' arrival and meeting with Emperor Hirohito.

Past photos of the day

May, 2004
May 18, 2004: Actor Anthony Quinn, during filming in Germany, 1966
May 17, 2004: Rev. Billy Graham preaches in Tokyo, 1980
May 16, 2004: Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila wins his second Olympic marathon, 1964
May 15, 2004: Cardinal Spellman visits the USS Ticonderoga of the coast of Vietnam, 1965
 May 14, 2004: A-37B Dragonfly aircraft in South Vietnam, 1972 (With story and additional photos)
 May 13, 2004: Princess Margaret of Great Britain, 1969 (With additional photos)
 May 12, 2004: "Star Wars" actor Mark Hamill returns to Nile C. Kinnick H.S., 1978 (With story)
May 11, 2004: A message from Uncle Sam at the Tay Ninh post office, 1968
May 10, 2004: Muhammad Ali takes on pro wrestler Antonio Inoki in an exhibition match, 1976
May 9, 2004: ABBA, onstage at Tokyo's Budokan Hall, 1980
May 8, 2004: Camel market in Saudi Arabia, 1991
 May 7, 2004: Chiang Kai-shek visits the carrier Enterprise, 1966 (With story and additional photos)
 May 6, 2004: A-1E Skyraiders over Vietnam, 1964 (With additional photos)
 May 5, 2004: Country music stars Chet Atkins and Skeeter Davis in Tokyo, 1965 (With additional photos)
 May 4, 2004: Vice President Spiro Agnew arrives in Japan, 1972 (With stories)
 May 3, 2004: Filming of "Up from the Beach" in Normandy, 1964 (With stories and additional photos)
 May 2, 2004: Reggae great Bob Marley performs in Tokyo, 1979 (With additional photos)
May 1, 2004: Adm. John S. McCain Jr., commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, 1969

April, 2004
April 30, 2004: President Johnson mingles with the crowd in Seoul, 1966 (With story)
 April 29, 2004: Meeting at Korean DMZ after four soldiers die in ambush, 1968 (With stories)
 April 28, 2004: A day in the life of a Hawk missile crew in Germany, 1964 (With story and additional photos)
 April 27, 2004: S. Korean villagers' first look at television, compliments of LBJ, 1967 (With story)
 April 26, 2004: Soldier gets some rest at Landing Zone Jamie in Vietnam, 1969 (With additional photos)
 April 25, 2004: MAD magazine founder and publisher William M. Gaines, 1984 (With story)
 April 24, 2004: Composer Henry Mancini, 1964 (With story)
 April 23, 2004: Actor Kirk Douglas in Tokyo, 1964 (With stories)
 April 22, 2004: Supply drop during Operation Junction City in Vietnam, 1967 (With story)
 April 21, 2004: The Dalai Lama opens an exhibit of Tibetan art in Tokyo, 1967 (With story)
 April 20, 2004: Actor Mel Gibson, promoting his latest "Mad Max" movie, 1985 (With story)
 April 19, 2004: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in a Tokyo motorcade, 1975 (With story)
 April 18, 2004: "Woody Woodpecker" cartoonist Walter Lantz visits a school, 1969 (With story)
April 17, 2004: Pro-American demonstrators in Manila, 1966
 April 16, 2004: Vice President Dan Quayle plays basketball at Yokota, 1989 (With story)
 April 15, 2004: Home run champions Hank Aaron and Sadaharu Oh, 1974 (With story)
 April 14, 2004: South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu plays the drums, 1969 (With story)
 April 13, 2004: A boy's life at Checkpoint Charlie, 1963 (With story and additional photos)
 April 12, 2004: Behind the scenes with Bob Hope in Vietnam, 1964 (With story and additional photos)
 April 11, 2004: Arnold Palmer competes in a golf tournament in Japan, 1971 (With additional photos)
April 10, 2004: Montagnard children in Vietnam, 1968
 April 9, 2004: Col. Levi Chase completes his 500th fighter mission, 1966 (With story)
 April 8, 2004: Rene Gagnon, one of the Iwo Jima flag-raisers, returns to Mt. Suribachi, 1965 (With story)
 April 7, 2004: Bill Cosby and Robert Culp take a break from I Spy filming, 1965 (With story)
 April 6, 2004: Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos with Japan's Emperor Hirohito, 1966 (With story)
 April 5, 2004: Billy Mills wins the 10,000 at the Tokyo Olympics, 1964 (With stories and additional photos)
April 4, 2004: Eleanor Roosevelt on her way to the Soviet Union, 1957
April 3, 2004: British fashion model Twiggy in Tokyo, 1967
 April 2, 2004: Pope John Paul II at Mainz, Germany, 1980 (With story and additional photos)
 April 1, 2004: Judy Garland, in Germany to campaign for JFK, 1960 (With story)

(Click here for Photos of the Day from June, 2003, through March 2004.)
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