Congo's Lumumba statue fan misses World Cup playoff because of visa problems

Congo’s famous living statue “Lumumba Vea” will miss the World Cup playoff against Jamaica because he was unable to get a visa in time.

Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, who gained fame during the Africa Cup of Nations for posing as a statue of Congo’s assassinated independence hero Patrice Lumumba for the entirety of games, traveled to Kenya and then Ethiopia in a bid to get a visa to attend Tuesday’s playoff in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Despite his efforts, he ran out of time.

“Unfortunately, even in an emergency situation, obtaining an express visa requires at least one day of processing, and even then, only under specific conditions,” Nkuka Mboladinga wrote on X.

“Given the importance of the mission – accompanying the Leopards – and the length of the journey to Mexico (18 to 22 hours with one stopover, and up to 30 hours with two), it seemed impossible to arrive on time and properly fulfill this mission,” he wrote. “I therefore decided to return to Kinshasa to support our ambassadors in a different way.”

Journalist Grévy Tambwe, who translated for Nkuka Mboladinga during an interview for The Associated Press in January, confirmed that the social media post came from Nkuka Mboladinga.

“We’re a bit heartbroken by this episode but it’s OK, we remain in touch with the national team and we’ll watch the match together with the other supporters and Michel will perform even if it’s at a distance,” Tambwe told The AP.

Nkuka Mboladinga became a social media star at the Africa Cup for posing as a statue of Lumumba on a pedestal with his right hand raised and staying entirely still for the team’s games.

Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped to end Belgium’s colonial rule over Congo in 1960. He became the new independent country’s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa’s most promising new leaders, but he was killed within a year during a struggle against a Belgian-backed secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region.

A Belgian court in March ordered a 93-year-old former diplomat to stand trial for the assassination. Etienne Davignon, who previously denied any wrongdoing, is the last living among 10 Belgians suspected of involvement in the killing and has been charged with “participation in war crimes” for his role in the “unlawful detention and transfer” of Lumumba.

Congo reached the last 16 of the Africa Cup. After being eliminated by Algeria, the Leopards' attention quickly switched to World Cup qualifying. If Congo does beat Jamaica in their playoff, it will be the second-to-last team to qualify for the 48-country competition before Iraq plays Bolivia in the last playoff in Monterrey, Mexico.