How a Patrice Lumumba tribute revived pan-Africanism at Afcon Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Sun, 01/18/2026 - 09:38 From Egypt to Algeria, football fans united around the life and legacy of the Congolese revolutionary DRC supporter Michel Kuka Mboladinga pays tribute Patrice Lumumba at the Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on 6 January 2026 (Gabriel Bouys/AFP) Off Sixty-four years after his assassination, Patrice Lumumba is once again in the public imagination - his pan-African legacy as alive as ever. The name of the Congolese revolutionary has been on the lips of millions since a tribute to him at this year’s African Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Morocco captured global attention. At the centre of the moment is Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, a Congolese football fan with a striking resemblance to Lumumba. Mboladinga became an online sensation after posing like a statue during each of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)'s Afcon matches, raising his right arm in the style of Lumumba’s memorial statue in Kinshasa and holding the pose for the entire game. The pose has been emulated by fans and players alike, from a Nigerian striker in an Afcon quarter-final to a Moroccan midfielder in a cup match in France. As Morocco and Senegal prepare to face off on Sunday in the Afcon final, the tribute to Lumumba will probably be remembered as the lasting symbol of this year’s tournament. But beyond just symbolism, it has sparked a conversation about Lumumba’s life, his pan-African and anti-colonial ideas, and his connections with other African countries (particularly in Egypt and Algeria ). “The spirit of Lumumba that is echoing through Morocco and the continent is a timely reminder that we must resist selling out our heritage and cultures at all costs,” William Ackah, an academic and expert on African diaspora studies, tells Middle East Eye. “Lumumba's fiercely anti-colonial stance and his dedication to African unity still shines like a beacon for all those across the continent and diaspora who hope for a free and independent African continent.” Who was Lumumba? Lumumba was born in July 1925, in what was then known as the Belgian Congo. His political activism began in the mid-1940s, while working as a postal clerk in Stanleyville (now known as Kisangani). He wrote poems and editorials railing against imperialism, which caught the attention of Belgian colonial administrators. He was later convicted and briefly jailed over embezzling post office funds - a charge he denied and which some historians believe was politically motivated. By the late 1950s, change was afoot in the continent after Ghana, led by Kwame Nkrumah, became the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule. Anti-imperialist fervour was rapidly spreading across the region. Lumumba soon became the first leader of the newly founded Congolese National Movement (MNC). He met nationalist leaders, including Nkrumah, with whom he would develop a close friendship, at a pan-African conference in Accra in 1958. There, he also met Frantz Fanon, the academic and famed proponent of Algerian independence. A year on, Lumumba was arrested over allegations of sparking a riot. He was released just two days later so he could attend a Brussels conference on the future of the Congo. The conference agreed that elections were to be held in May 1960, and independence to follow a month after. Morocco's Mohamed V with Patrice Lumumba, prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 8 August 1960 during his official visit to Morocco (AFP) The MNC won the election, making Lumumba the first prime minister of the DRC. Days after independence, Lumumba gave an explosive speech in the presence of Belgium’s King Baudouin. “He stood before King Baudouin and delivered a famous speech in which he spoke of years of enslavement and humiliation, urging international leaders to respect the will of his people,” Kribsoo Diallo, a researcher in political science and African affairs, tells MEE. “He wanted the people of Congo to control their natural resources and refused to allow major decisions to be made from outside the country.” The speech sparked a tense period, with the resource-rich Katanga region splitting away from the rest of the Congo with the help of Belgium. Lumumba sought help from the US, the UN and the West to keep his country together. When these efforts failed, he turned to the Soviet Union – a move that would prompt western leaders to accuse him of being a communist. A political crisis ensued, and Lumumba was eventually ousted from power by Joseph Mobutu with support from Belgium and the US. 'He wanted the people of Congo to control their natural resources and refused to allow major decisions to be made from outside the country' - Kribsoo Diallo, researcher Fearing for his life, Lumumba attempted to flee to Stanleyville, but was captured by Congolese soldiers. On 17 January 1961, he and two of his companions were tortured and executed by Congolese troops and Belgian mercenaries. Lumumba was just 35. His body was dissolved in acid, and the murder was kept secret for weeks. The only part of him that remains is a gold-crowned tooth, taken to Brussels as a trophy by Gerard Soete, the Belgian policeman who oversaw the disposal the body. In June 2022, six decades after the killing, the tooth was returned to his family at a ceremony in Brussels. While a Belgian investigation in 2001 did not discover a document ordering Lumumba’s murder, it found that members of the government “were morally responsible for circumstances leading to the death”. It has also since emerged that Washington did not directly pull the trigger, but US President Dwight Eisenhower had ordered the CIA to eliminate Lumumba. It is thought to be the first ever US order to assassinate a foreign leader - and certainly not the last. Children raised in Egypt Egyptians have taken to social media, following the Afcon tribute, to discuss Egypt's role in continuing Lumumba's legacy. News footage from January 1961 was re-shared, showing hundreds of Egyptians taking to the streets of Cairo after Lumumba’s murder, setting a car on fire and attacking the Belgian embassy. Lumumba’s wife and children went into exile in Egypt after his death, where they were received by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Demonstrations in Cairo, Egypt condemning the kiIIing of Patrice Lumumba of DR Congo , 1961. pic.twitter.com/Wxjvj2bLB3 — Africa First (@AfricaFirsts) January 8, 2026 Nasser was a key ally of Lumumba, and ensured that the slain leader’s family were moved into a residence in Cairo’s Zamalek neighbourhood, with the children’s school fees paid for by the state. Resurfaced news footage showed Francois and Juliana Lumumba years later speaking about their father in an Egyptian Arabic dialect. “In the 50s and 60s, Egypt was not only trying to be this hub for pan-Arabism, but also a hub for pan-Africanism,” Nihal Elaasar, an Egyptian writer, researcher and radio host, tells MEE. “That's why Gamal Abdel Nasser immediately offered Lumumba's children refuge in Egypt; the same way Egypt at the time was supporting Algerian decolonisation against the French.” Diallo, who is based in Cairo and translates English and Arabic articles for research centres in Africa, describes how Lumumba was strongly influenced by Egypt’s experience of challenging western dominance. “In the late 1950s, Cairo was a major hub for African liberation movements, with Nasser’s Egypt providing political, media, and organisational support to independence movements,” he says. 'Egypt was not only trying to be this hub for pan-Arabism, but also a hub for pan-Africanism' - Nihal Elaasar, Egyptian writer Nasser and Lumumba were among several anti-colonial leaders during that period, including Nkrumah in Ghana, Sekou Toure in Guinea, as well as Ahmed Ben Bella and Houari Boumediene in Algeria. “Today, when Lumumba’s name is recalled in football stands or popular discussions, he is not remembered only as a Congolese figure,” says Diallo. “But as a symbol of a time when African unity was a real political project, not just a slogan.” Elaasar notes that Egypt at the time was connected with Nkrumah’s family too, after the Ghanaian leader married an Egyptian Coptic woman. Their son, Gamal Nkrumah (named after Nasser), lives and works as a journalist in Egypt to this day. “Unearthing these stories and paying them attention shows how much football supporters and ordinary people in Egypt yearn for these days of when Egypt was a regional influence across the Arab world and Africa,” says Elaasar. After Nasser’s death in 1970, his successor Anwar Sadat moved away from the pan-African and pan-Arab foreign policy of his predecessor. Most of Lumumba’s family gradually left Egypt as a result, with some moving to Europe and others eventually returning to the DRC once the first prime minister’s image and legacy was rehabilitated. Controversy during Algeria game Lumumba’s relationship with Algeria was also remembered during this year’s Afcon, not least due to a controversial incident at the tournament. After Algeria defeated Congo in the last minute of extra time of their quarter-final match, Algerian player Mohamed Amine Amoura mimicked Mboladinga’s tribute and then fell to the ground - as if the statue had been knocked over. It caused fierce backlash and Amoura took to social media to apologise. He said the action had been a light-hearted joke, and that he was not aware of who or what the symbol in the stands represented. Mboladinga was later invited to Algeria’s team hotel, where he was presented with an Algeria shirt with Lumumba’s name on the back. A show of sportsmanship from the Algerian Football Federation. The team met with renowned Congolese supporter, Lumumba (Michel Kuka Mboladinga), and presented him with a gift pic.twitter.com/Q4u92iYL59 — Leagues Reporter (@LeaguesReporter) January 7, 2026 Algerians online noted that Lumumba’s legacy is well remembered in their country, with plaques and gardens named after him. Djamel Benlamri, a prominent Algerian footballer, took to Instagram to praise Mboladinga and play down any controversy. “We are a people who have known colonialism and injustice. Therefore, it is impossible for us to mock, provoke, or despise the feelings of a brotherly people,” he wrote. Michel Kuka Mboladinga poses during the Afcon match between the DRC and Botswana at El Madina Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, on 30 December 2025 (Sebastien Bozon/AFP) “We stand against all attempts to sow hatred and discord between brothers united by a shared African history.” Lumumba himself was outspoken against French colonialism in Algeria. “We all know, and the whole world knows it, that Algeria is not French, that Angola is not Portuguese, that Kenya is not English, that Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda-Burundi) is not Belgian,” he told an African summit in August 1960. Like Egypt, Diallo says, Algeria became a hub for African liberation movements after its independence in 1962, “seeing in Lumumba and others a shared destiny between Sub-Saharan and North Africa”. “In the pan-African imagination of that time, Africa was not divided into North and South. It was seen as a single arena for a long struggle against colonialism and imperialism,” he said. Beyond Algeria and Egypt, streets are named after Lumumba in Ukraine, Russia , Morocco, Ghana, Belgium, Iran , South Africa, Serbia and many other countries. Tribute could return at World Cup Though Afcon concludes today, we may see a return of Lumumba’s tribute at an even bigger tournament during the summer. DRC are one game away from qualifying for the World Cup, which will take place in Mexico, Canada and the United States. That raises the prospect of Mboladinga bringing his tribute to North America. 'Lumumba was and is a hero to African descendant communities across the Americas' - William Ackah, academic “I think it would be a powerful anti-imperialist symbol in the US. Lumumba was and is a hero to African descendant communities across the Americas,” said Ackah. Egyptian fans have even called on their federation to invite Mboladinga so he can cheer Egypt on during a group stage game against Belgium. Diallo says that tributes to Lumumba at the World Cup may provoke a mixed reaction, with some government figures and mainstream media likely to see them as a political provocation. “Lumumba reminds people of Washington and its allies’ role in undermining early African democracy,” Diallo said. “For this reason, any tribute to him on a global stage such as the World Cup would be a powerful act.” “It would not only revive the memory of a man but also challenge dominant narratives about Africa and its history.” Sport News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0