Paul-Joseph Mukungubila

In this Congolese name, the surname is Munkungibila and the post-surname is Mutombo.

Photograph of Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo, seated and dressed in yellow
Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo, 2023

Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo (born 26 December 1947) is a Congolese religious and political figure. He is the leader of the "Church of the Lord Jesus Christ", established in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kolwezi, Kalemie,[1] Brussels, Paris and Washington DC area. He declared himself "prophet of the Lord" for "the Ministry of Restoration from Sub-Saharan Africa".[2][3]

His disciples declared that he is the leader announced by the prophecies of Simon Kimbangu and the Bitawala (or Kitawala) on the advent of the true independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).[4][5]

A candidate in the 2006 presidential election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he is opposed to Joseph Kabila because he accused Kabila of being a foreigner from Rwanda.[6][7] In his speeches in the media, and through open letters to the international community, he regularly denounced the "Rwandan occupation", the attempts to "Balkanize" the DRC, alleged daily mass rapes of Congolese children and women by men from Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, the massacre of the civilian population, the selling-off of the raw materials, and the alleged looting of the natural resources of the DRC by neighboring countries, including Rwanda.[8][1][6][7][9][10]

On 11 May 2010 a demonstration of his followers was suppressed.[11] Several of his disciples came to demand the release of three of them detained the day before. A press release from the Voice of the Voiceless (La Voix des Sans Voix),[12] a Congolese human rights NGO, speaks of shots "at close range in the crowd, without any warning" by "soldiers of the former DEMIAP".[13] There were reports of one dead, six wounded and five missing among the demonstrators.[11]

On 5 February 2011, Mukungubila was awarded the Diploma of Excellence and Civil Merit by the Association of Political Journalists of the Congo (AJPC), for having particularly made himself famous in Democratic Republic of Congo and in the concert of the nations by the work, the virtue, and actions of large scale (political, social, cultural, diplomatic, spiritual, sportive, military, police, philanthropic and others ...) in favor of his nation.[14][15]

On Wednesday, 2 March 2011, the Patriotic Congolese Journalists Network awarded Mukungubila a diploma and a trophy of merit and patriotism to celebrate a rich enough past in favor of the populations of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The selection of the jury was unanimous in Paul Joseph Mukungubila.[16]

On 30 December 2013, riots took place in several towns in the DRC, including the capital Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kolwezi, Kindu and Kisangani.[17] Several demonstrators claiming to be Mukungubila followers converged on several strategic sites, including the RTNC (Congolese National Radio and Television) headquarters to express their anger in response to attacks earlier in the morning by security forces against two residences of Joseph Mukungubila in Lubumbashi where several adepts were gathered. These residences also serve as a place of worship. An investigation report,[17] published in May 2014 by the League of Voters (la Ligue des Electeurs),[18] a Congolese human rights NGO affiliated to International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), speaks of serious violations of human rights perpetrated by the Congolese Army towards the "followers of the Ministry of Restoration from Sub-Saharan Africa", notably by referring to "massacres", "summary executions", and "arbitrary arrests" committed, in particular, by elements of The Republican Guard. About a hundred followers were arrested and detained in prison in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, with 54 others killed by security forces. Mukungubila went into exile in South Africa when an international arrest warrant was issued by Interpol at the request of the Congolese government for his extradition.[19] On 15 May 2014 he was arrested, brought before the Magistrates Court in Johannesburg and released on bail during his trial. A year later, on 15 May 2015, the trial ended with the South African justice deciding to abandon the prosecution against him and thus reject the extradition request made by the Congolese government because of "insufficient evidence".[20]

Since the end of 2013, Mukungubila has sent numerous letters to the international community to address the political and humanitarian crisis in the DRC. In his open letter to François Hollande dated 18 April 2016, he asked the latter to stop receiving Joseph Kabila at the Elysée and questioned him about the "tragedy" in the DRC, saying: "To conclude Mr. President, It would be for us a big consolation that you cannot endorse this incomparable tragedy that taking place in the DRC, caused by the Rwandan invasion. Think of the French dead who fell during the occupation of your country by Germans, which had forced General De Gaulle to find himself in Brazzaville, in the Congo, and which he declared to be the capital of free France".[7]

  1. ^ a b "Le Banco - Article". Lebanco.net. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Gideon Mukungubila derrière les violences à Kinshasa ? - France 24". France24.com. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Violences de lundi à Kinshasa: le pasteur Mukungubila accusé d'être le responsable". Rtl.be. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  4. ^ "RDC : fin du régime à Ankoro - Joseph MUKUNGUBILA". Mukungubila.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Le Prophète Simon Kimbangu. ( Un Homme à découvrir ou à redécouvrir... ) - ET SI ON DECIDAIT DE RENTRER". Rentrer.fr. 26 December 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b "RDC : quatre choses à savoir sur Paul-Joseph Mukungubila – JeuneAfrique.com". Jeuneafrique.com. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b c [1] [dead link]
  8. ^ "The Looting of Congo". The New York Times. 29 May 2001. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  9. ^ "SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS ILLEGAL EXPLOITATION OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO'S NATURAL RESOURCES - Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". Un.org. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  10. ^ "REPORT ON EXPLOITATION OF RESOURCES OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO IS CHALLENGED IN SECURITY COUNCIL - Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". Un.org. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Kinshasa: coups de feu à Kintambo pour disperser les fidèles d'une église". Radiookapi.net. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  12. ^ "VSV RDC – Voix des sans voix pour le droit de l'homme". Vsv-rdc.org. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  13. ^ "COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE N°026/RDC/VSV/CD/2010 : REPRESSION SANGLANTE DU SIT-IN DES FIDELES DU PROPHETE PAUL JOSEPH MUKUNGUBILA MUTOMBO DEVANT L'EX DEMIAP" (PDF). Vsv-rdc.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  14. ^ Ephraim Kongo (30 April 2011). "RD Congo: L'Homme du cinquantenaire - Joseph Mukungubila - p4/5". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Everytube | Joseph MUKUNGUBILA reçoit le prix d'Excellence et d'émérite civique de l'association des Journalistes Politologues du Congo (A.J.P.C.)". Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  16. ^ Ephraim Kongo (20 January 2014). "RDC: Les Journalistes Congolais plébiscitent Joseph Mukungubila". YouTube. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  17. ^ a b "RÉPUBLIQUE DÉMOCRATIQUE DU CONGO : 30 DÉCEMBRE 2013 : LES MASSACRES DES ADEPTES DU MINISTÈRE DE LA RESTAURATION A PARTIR DE L'AFRIQUE NOIRE : Rapport d'enquête" (PDF). Fidh.org. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  18. ^ "PROCEC - Ligue des Electeurs". Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Le Pasteur Joseph Mukungubila remis en liberté sous caution". Radiookapi.net. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  20. ^ "RDC : la justice sud-africaine abandonne les poursuites contre le pasteur Mukungubila – JeuneAfrique.com". Jeuneafrique.com. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2018.