Who: Candidate for president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Hometown: Lubumbashi, DRC

Current Residence: Westborough, MA

Spotlight: What’s Lingala for “carpetbagger”? Congolese by birth but Massachusettsian by 19 years’ experience, Kashala, an oncologist with Cambridge’s Millennium Pharmaceuticals, threw his hat into his homeland’s electoral ring after provisional prez Joseph Kabila announced the troubled nation’s first democratic elections in 40 years. With little political experience and even less name recognition, Kashala is something of a long shot. But he’s still managed to wind up at the center of a bizarre international incident. Thirty-two alleged “mercenaries”–including three Americans–who had been hired to advise him on security and campaign strategy found themselves locked up in Congolese prison cells on May 19, accused of plotting a coup against Kabila–charges that Kashala maintains are false and politically motivated. American diplomats quickly finagled the release of the detainees, but the Congolese government struck again, deporting Kashala’s lawyer to Belgium on similar coup charges.

Family: Kashala and his wife, Prudence, have nine children–four adopted and five biological, according to the Washington Post.

Launchpad: Kashala’s first campaign event took place not in the Congo but at the Harvard Faculty Club, just a few thousand miles away.

Campaign Tactics: Kashala told Boston Magazine that he solicits donations and support from Washington insiders by arguing that “Because of chaos and social misery in [the DRC]…people may go to Al Qaeda or someone else, because they feed on this type of ground…If the United States wants to confine terrorism, Congo must be a factor.” The pitch often succeeds; as Boston Magazine writer John Wolfson says, “It’s a brilliant line, and it doesn’t matter much whether it’s true.”

In His Own Words: “This is more than just a political campaign. It’s about saving lives.” —Kashala tells the Boston Globe why he’s running.

The People Speak: A comment from Kashala’s so-called “Campaign Blog”, which is actually more of a message board: “Whether he has a US Citizenship or not, I think he is the man! What about Kabila? we all know that he isn\ [sic].”