Manono is a particular linguistic oddity, since it uses only tone to differentiate an affirmative from a negative a phenomenon the ELA has since discovered applies to all verbs in Mahongwe.

ECONOMIST: Linguistics

His mission to find Manono, a 1950s model town built by a Belgian mining company in the rarely visited interior of eastern Congo, is illuminated as much by the detours as the destination.

ECONOMIST: Life in Congo: War and peace | The

On getting to Manono after a hazardous journey, free of the usual hyperbole that Congo travels inspire, Mr Rawlence discovers the ruin of a town that once triumphed over nature before becoming its prey.

ECONOMIST: Life in Congo: War and peace | The