How did Joseph Mobutu take power in the 1960 coup?

Joseph Mobutu, then serving as the Army Chief of Staff, took power in a coup d’état on September 14, 1960, during a period of intense political instability known as the Congo crisis.12

The coup was precipitated by a constitutional impasse between President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who had each attempted to dismiss the other, resulting in two rival groups claiming to be the legal central government. Mobutu, who had been appointed secretary of state for national defense, was in a unique position to influence this power struggle because he was one of the few officers who maintained control over the army, having secured the loyalty of the troops by liberally dispensing commissions and back pay.123

Following Lumumba’s attempt to oust Kasavubu, Mobutu intervened by seizing control of the government and announcing that the army would rule with the help of a caretaker government, effectively "neutralizing" all politicians. In February 1961, Mobutu turned the government back over to Kasavubu, who subsequently appointed him commander in chief of the armed forces.132