US EditionCongolese Supporter Becomes AFCON Icon as He Pays Tribute to Country's First PM
- On January 6, 2026, Democratic Republic of Congo supporter Michel Kuka Mboladinga remained motionless at Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium, Rabat, with a raised arm inspired by Patrice Lumumba's Kinshasa statue.
- Kuka first adopted the pose several years ago at AS Vita Club matches, while Patrice Lumumba briefly served as DR Congo's first prime minister in 1960 and was assassinated the following year.
- Accompanied by a government-funded delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters, Michel Kuka attended the January 6 last-16 match where the Leopards lost 1-0 to the Algeria national football team.
- Supporters told AFP they were proud and chanted Michel Kuka Mboladinga's name, while Jered Bitobo, head of communication of the supporters group, called the open palm `a sign of peace`; Kuka did not speak to AFP after overwhelming media attention.
- Amid an ongoing conflict in the east along its border with Rwanda, DR Congo's participation in Morocco recalls Lumumba's killing, a dark moment in Belgium's colonial history.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Taipei Times
DR Congo’s human statue becomes AFCON star fan
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
Congolese supporter becomes AFCON icon as he pays tribute to country's first PM
Supporters from across Africa have gathered in Morocco to watch their national teams compete in the Africa Cup of Nations - and one has since become an icon. He stood like a statue at every game DR Congo played before their elimination. The pose is a tribute to the DR Congo's first Prime Minister, who was assassinated in 1961.
derwesten.de
Even "Congo statue" Michel Kuka Mboladinga lost the version in this drama. A BVB star was in the middle of it.
The defeat of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Algeria by 1-0 on Tuesday, with a goal by Adil Boulbina in the 119th minute, ended one of AFCON’s most iconic images: a Congolese amateur who spent all the parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo standing still with his right arm raised. The 26-year-old amateur, Michel Kuka, stood as a human statue during the 438 minutes of Congo’s participation in AFCON, also wearing colorful clothes…
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