I came to liberate the people of the Congo.

— Paul Dilungane Dia Malonga

2023

Paul Dilungane Dia Malonga

Paul Dilungane Dia Malonga was born and raised in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Malonga studied in Lubumbashi, DRC, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Dakar, Senegal. In the full interview, Malonga discusses his family history, his education at the University of Dakar, and his work with a Kimbanguist theater group. This interview was originally conducted in French in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Conversation Transcript

I think that what has most frustrated the colonial authority, is the way Papa Simon Kimbangu, in his oral verve, launched his mission, especially his famous phrase. This sentence, Papa Simon Kimbangu used to say it, and we have… […] We have the testimony of Papa Daniel Massano (ph). One day ,Papa Daniel was conversing with Papa Simon Kimbangu. But at some point, Papa Simon Kimbangu told him: “Listen, I’m going to go chat with Christ, God.”On his return, he said: “My brother, my mission will be for two or three months. ”The mission.“But just know this. Our brothers who had been sold in the Americas.” There, he told Papa Daniel Massano: “Our brothers who had been sold in the Americas will return here to the Congo. They will return on the day that God has set, because we too, we contributed to their sale. We also sold them because, for elephant tusks. I regretted it. But they will return to Africa ,they will return to Congo on the day, God set it, and you will see. […] Papa Simon Kimbangu, he said: “I came to liberate the people of the Congo, and the entire Black race of the whole world.” I repeat, “I came to liberate the people of the Congo, and the entire Black race of the whole world. The Black Man will become White, the White man will become Black.”