Simon Kimbangu and the liberation of Africa

Born in Nkamba near Thysville in 1887, Simon Kimbangu arrived in a storm of rain and thunder. According to the Kimbanguist narrative, Papa Kuyela, a traditional religious leader, and Mama Luezi found him as an infant in the bush. This child was the one Kimpa Vita had prophesied in the 1600s would bring the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the liberation of Africa. Kimbangu became a Baptist in 1915 and worked as a catechist for several years before beginning his own ministry after being called by The Lord Jesus Christ in 1910.

According to his disciples, Kimbangu cured the sick, raised the dead back to life, prophesied the future, and revealed hidden truths from the Bible. His ministry of preaching and miraculous healing lasted from April to September 1921. Despite opposition from Belgian authorities, Kimbangu continued his work until his arrest in June 1921. After escaping into the bush with some followers, he turned himself in in September. He was put on trial without a legal representative and found guilty of undermining public security and disturbing the peace.

During his trial, he claimed to be the special envoy of Jesus, the Muanda Velela, meaning Holy Spirit in Kikongo; the one promised by Christ in John 14:15. On October 3, 1921, he was sentenced to death. He was moved to a prison in Elisabethville where he died in 1951. Recently, the Congolese government introduced a law establishing 6 April of each year as a holiday dedicated to the “fight of Simon Kimbangu and the African consciousness”.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons