The famous Congolese living statue "Lumumba Vea" will not be able to attend the World Cup play-off match against Jamaica, as he was unable to obtain his visa in time.
Michel Nkuka Mboladinga , who became known during the Africa Cup of Nations by embodying the statue of Patrice Lumumba , the assassinated Congolese independence hero, throughout the matches , traveled to Kenya and then Ethiopia in the hope of obtaining a visa to attend Tuesday's playoff match 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 certain 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 in time and complete this mission ," he wrote. "So I decided to return to Kinshasa to support our ambassadors in another way."
Journalist Grévy Tambwe, who served as Nkuka Mboladinga's interpreter during an interview for the Associated Press in January, confirmed that the social media message did indeed come from Nkuka Mboladinga.
"We are a little disappointed by this episode, but it's not a big deal, we remain in contact with the national team, and we will watch the match with the other supporters. Michel will be there, even if it's remotely ," Tambwe told the AP.
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Nkuka Mboladinga became a social media star during the Africa Cup of Nations for posing like a statue of Lumumba on a pedestal, with his right hand raised, and remaining perfectly still during his team's matches.
Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped end Belgian colonial rule over the Congo in 1960. He became the first Prime Minister of the newly independent country and was considered one of Africa's most promising new leaders, but he was assassinated less than a year later in a conflict against a Belgian- backed secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region .
In March, a Belgian court ordered that a 93-year-old former diplomat stand trial for the assassination. Étienne Davignon , who had previously denied any involvement, is the last surviving member of the ten Belgians suspected of participating in the murder and has been charged with "participation in war crimes" for his role in the "illegal detention and transfer" of Lumumba.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reached the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations. After being eliminated by Algeria , the Leopards quickly turned their attention to World Cup qualifying. If the DRC defeats Jamaica in their playoff match, they will be the penultimate team to qualify for the 48-team tournament, before Iraq faces Bolivia in the final playoff in Monterrey, Mexico.
