DR Congo MPs propose Étienne Tshisekedi and four others as national heroes
DR Congo's National Assembly on Friday backed a resolution to make five historical figures national heroes, including Étienne Tshisekedi and Simon Kimbangu. The Senate and the president must still approve it.
DR Congo's National Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution proposing five historical figures for the country's National Order of National Heroes. They are opposition figure Étienne Tshisekedi, prophet Simon Kimbangu, prophetess Kimpa Vita and two Catholic archbishops, Christophe Munzihirwa and Emmanuel Kataliko. If approved, they will join Patrice Emery Lumumba and Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the only two national heroes so far, Radio Okapi reported. Speaker Aimé Boji Sangara chaired the plenary at the Palais du Peuple in Kinshasa, according to Actualite.cd. The Assembly's rapporteur, Jacques Djoli, read out the resolution. It rests on a law of December 23, 2025, which opened the order to other Congolese. The old 2002 law limited the honour to Lumumba and Kabila. They were killed on January 17, 1961, and January 16, 2001, respectively. The resolution says this "hermetically" shut the door on everyone else. The new law grants the title only posthumously and only to Congolese citizens. They must have risked or given their lives for independence, democracy, territorial integrity or national unity and sovereignty, Actualite.cd reported. Tshisekedi co-founded the UDPS…
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