‘I am a living statue’: How DR Congo’s most famous soccer fan is keeping Patrice Lumumba’s legacy alive

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s opening World Cup match against Portugal was a historic occasion.

Not only was the nation making just its second-ever appearance at the tournament – and first since 1974 when it was still known as Zaire – but Yoane Wissa’s towering header on the stroke of halftime marked the DRC’s first World Cup goal and earned its first point.

Yet, as Les Léopards took to the field, it felt as though something was missing.

This is because heading into the tournament, attention had focused not only on the players who would be sporting Congo’s famous sky blue jersey, but also whether the team’s unofficial 12th man would be in the stands: Michel Kuka Mboladinga, better known by his nickname “Lumumba Vea,” or “Lumumba Lives.”

Mboladinga is the Congolese national team’s most famous fan and rose to prominence during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where he stood atop a pedestal with a steely gaze during every Congo match, remaining perfectly still with his right arm raised from beginning to end.

The pose is a tribute to Patrice Émery Lumumba, Congo’s first prime minister after it gained independence from Belgium in June 1960 – and someone to whom Mboladinga bears a striking resemblance. Lumumba was assassinated less than seven months later in January 1961 at the age of just 35.

More than six decades on, Patrice Lumumba remains one of the most revered figures in Congolese history. And through his now famous matchday ritual, Mboladinga is helping keep his legacy alive through The Beautiful Game.

It may seem remarkable that a leader who spent less than three months in power continues to command such reverence over 65 years after his death.

But Lumumba was far more than a just politician.

He became a symbol of Congolese nationalism during its struggle against Belgian colonial rule, which began when King Leopold II established the Congo Free State in 1885.

He was the figurehead of the DRC’s brutal fight for freedom, and a man who civil rights activist Malcolm X lauded as “the greatest Black man who ever walked the African continent” in 1964.

Because of this, “he’s my inspiration,” Mboladinga told CNN Sports from Mexico on Monday night. “Patrice Lumumba is a symbol of unity – the one who taught Congolese to stand and to be proud.”

Nothing encapsulated that more than his famous Independence Day speech at the Palace of the Nation in Léopoldville (current-day Kinshasa) on June 30, 1960.

Standing before King Baudouin of Belgium – the great-great-nephew of Leopold II – from whom his nation had just gained its independence, Patrice Lumumba gave a stunning speech where he excoriated Belgian colonialism.

“Although this independence of the Congo is being proclaimed today … no Congolese will ever forget that independence was won in struggle,” he declared.

“Morning, noon and night, we were subjected to jeers, insults and blows because we were ‘Negroes.’ We shall show the world what the Black man can do when working in liberty, and we shall make the Congo the pride of Africa.”

The speech reverberated around the world and was “one of the most important speeches in the 20th century,” Dr. Reuben Loffman – a historian, author and senior lecturer in African history at Queen Mary University of London, specializing in DR Congo – told CNN Sports.

Lumumba’s scathing remarks of June 1960 were not only “fundamental to his reputation, but also marked him out in the United States’ mind,” Loffman said.

“Because, bear in mind, the Cold War was happening, so they were particularly paranoid and thinking, ‘You’re a communist.’

“But of course, he wasn’t. Lumumba just wanted Congo for Congolese.”

Within three months of that speech, the inaugural prime minister was removed from power by then-president Joseph Kasa-Vubu.

A further three months later, military forces led by Mobutu Sese Seko – who later served as president for 32 years from 1965-1997 – captured him and flew him to Katanga in southeastern Congo, where he was subjected to torture and ultimately executed by firing squad.

After the execution, his body was first thrown into a shallow grave, but later dug up, dismembered, and his remains were dissolved in acid.

The only known remnant of Lumumba was a gold-crowned tooth, which Belgian police officer Gérard Soete – who confessed that he was the one responsible for dismembering the body and dissolving his remains – kept for 39 years until his death in 2000.

Soete’s daughter then had possession of the tooth until 2016, by which point it was then seized by Belgian authorities and only eventually returned to Lumumba’s family and buried in 2022.

Today, it now rests in a specialized mausoleum in Kinshasa, where a commemorative statue of the independence hero stands with his right arm raised – the same pose Mboladinga now imitates that has brought him such widespread recognition.

Mboladinga’s tribute has become one of African soccer’s most recognizable sights and was on full display for the first time at this World Cup when DRC took on Colombia in Zapopan, Mexico, on Tuesday.

Part of the fascination with Mboladinga’s tribute comes from the symbolism. The other part comes from the simple question on everyones minds: How does one stay still with their arm raised for so long?

“Believe it or not, but I do practice,” he told CNN Sports ahead of the game. “I can actually practice 20 days out of a month, but I’ll also take a lot of rest.”

The extreme heat and humidity in North America is another factor that could test Mboladinga’s resolve, as he attends games suited and booted regardless of the conditions.

But the superfan remains unfazed by this.

“I am a living statue,” Mboladinga said. “The climate has no impact on me. My job is not just to stand there, but rather to communicate energy, strength and power to the players. That is what I am focusing on.

“I do not foresee a time when I’m actually going to let go and lower my hand – I will get my job done.”

However, his presence at the World Cup was almost put in jeopardy after the recent Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which led to the US placing entry restrictions on affected countries, and even forced the national team to cancel its three-day, pre-tournament training camp in Kinshasa.

But luckily for Mboladinga, the Congo squad stopped at nothing to ensure its beloved icon made it to North America, going as far as persuading DRC President Félix Tshisekedi to include him in the team’s official delegation.

He did miss Les Léopards’ opener against Portugal, but “although I was not there physically, I was able to attend the game at one of the fan zones, so I was very much connected,” he said.

“After going back to the World Cup after 52 years and then facing a giant like Portugal, to be able to draw with them was a great achievement (and) a joyful moment for the whole Congolese nation.”

That joy would have been slightly dampened after the DRC’s 1-0 loss to Colombia, but victory over Uzbekistan would very likely confirm a place in the Round of 32 and have people dancing from the war-torn streets of Goma right through to the capital of Kinshasa.

Prosper Heri Ngorora, a journalist based in Goma, saw this first-hand when the DRC first booked its place at the World Cup.

“M23 rebels themselves here in Goma jubilated, and even in Kinshasa people also jubilated,” he told CNN Sports last month. “That shows that football can be a glue that unites people together.”

On the pitch, Les Léopards are just over 90 minutes away from potentially sending over 116 million people back at home into absolute ecstasy. They will be cheered on by those back home and the thousands of adoring Congolese fans who will surely paint Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta sky blue on Sunday.

But standing tall, above all, as he always does, will be Mboladinga.

“I will be there. I will have a leopard print in the back. And the whole world will see me.”