X-Nico

58 unusual facts about Kinshasa


2000–01 Colchester United F.C. season

The virtuoso performance by the youngster from Kinshasa persuaded Newcastle boss Bobby Robson to part with a staggering £2.25m in September 2000.

2011 Democratic Republic of the Congo coup d'état attempt

On February 27, 2011, between 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm, two groups of about one hundred people dressed in civilian clothes attacked the presidential residence in Gombe.

Six people died after being stopped by soldiers at a roadblock near the Kinshasa Presidential Palace.

Antonov An-32

On 8 January 1996, an An-32 freighter crashed into a crowded marketplace in Kinshasa, Zaire, resulting in the deaths of approximately 237 people on the ground.

Barly Baruti

Baruti is the co-founder of the Atelier de Création et de l'Initiation à l'Art (Creative Workshop for an Initiation to Art) to encourage talented youth in Kinshasa.

Bills

The Bills were a youth subculture active in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the late 1950s, basing much of their image and outlook on the cowboys of American Western movies.

Bralima Brewery

From 1950 to 1958 Bralima decided to keep on five breweries in DR Congo: Kinshasa, Boma, Bukavu, Kisangani and Mbandaka.

On 23 October 1923 the “Brasserie de Léopoldville” (as Kinshasa was then known) was established for 4.000.000 Congolese Francs.

Carlos Azpiroz Costa

I remember the faces of Christian families badly wounded at Bahawalpur (Pakistan 2001), the neighbors of our sisters in the poorest barrios of Kinshasa (Congo), the children following us in Cameroon, in the Civil War Square in Campodos (Tibú), Colombia, families fishing from the canoes off Gizo in the Solomon Islands or in the Urubamba River in the Peruvian Amazon.

Colleen Opoku Amuaben

Dr. (Mrs.) Colleen Helena Opoku Amuaben is the General Overseer of Precious Seed Chapel International with fifteen branches in Central Africa – Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa and Almeria, Spain and Ghana, with the headquarters situated in Tema and is the founder of Save Them Young Mission Incorporated.

Congotronics series

These bands play what is referred to in the Congo as tradi-moderne music, and comprise musicians who left the bush in order to settle in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic Of The Congo.

Crotoniidae

Holonothrus virungensis Norton & Olszanowski, 1989 — Congo: Kinshasa

Danny Mwanga

Jean-Marie Daniel "Danny" Mwanga (born July 17, 1991 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-American footballer who currently plays for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.

Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth

From 1959 to 1961 she was Consul and First Secretary to Leopoldville.

Davi Mbala

Davi Nkumu Mbala (born 19 April 1993 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese professional footballer who plays for F.C. Penafiel, as a forward.

Elias Ntaganda

Elias Ntaganda (born January 1, 1982 in Kinshasa), is a Rwandan football defender currently playing for APR FC.

Évariste Kimba

Evariste Kimba Mutombo (July 16, 1926 – Kinshasa, June 1, 1966) served briefly as the Republic of the Congo's Prime Minister from October 18 to November 14, 1965.

Friedrich St. Florian

With Abraham he also won the first prize (ex equo) in the international architectural design competition for the "Cultural Center" in Leopoldville, Congo in 1959 and the third prize in the 1958 competition for the Pan Arabian University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Gao Hucheng

In 1972 Gao was chosen to study French at the Beijing Second Foreign Languages Institute, and in 1975 he went abroad to study at the National University of Zaire in Kinshasa, capital of Zaire (now known as Democratic Republic of Congo).

Henri Bowane

Bowane rose to prominence in the late 1940s Leopoldville African music scene, in which Cuban style music combined with Lingala and pan-Congolese styles.

HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

According to UNAIDS, several factors fuel the spread of HIV in the DR Congo, including movement of large numbers of refugees and soldiers, scarcity and high cost of safe blood transfusions in rural areas, a lack of counseling, few HIV testing sites, high levels of untreated sexually transmitted infections among sex workers and their clients, and low availability of condoms outside Kinshasa and one or two provincial capitals.

Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou

He was an assistant at the University of Lovanium of Léopoldville in Congo for some months, after which he went to Yale University, on a NATO-scholarship, where he obtained a PhD in economics under Richard Cooper.

James David Bevan

He joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1982 and served in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris, and Washington, as well as various posts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Jeremy Bokila

Jeremy Loteteka Bokila (born 14 November 1988 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-Dutch footballer, who plays as a forward for Russian Premier League team Terek Grozny and the DR Congo national team.

Joël Kimwaki

Joel Kimwaki (born 14 October 1986 in Kinshasa) is a Democratic Republic of the Congolese footballer, who currently plays for TP Mazembe as a defender.

Joël Tshibamba

Joël Omari Tshibamba (born 22 September 1988 in Kinshasa) is a Dutch-Congolese footballer who plays as a forward for Danish Superliga club FC Vestsjælland.

Kazenga LuaLua

Born in Kinshasa, LuaLua moved to England shortly after his birth.

King Kulture: Stop the Traffic

The first, King Kulture, was released on January 31, 2012, to support the elementary school Ecole de la Borne in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kinshasa Kids

Set in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the film focuses on a group of street kids, expelled from their homes after being accused of witchcraft, who form a hip hop group while a documentary crew films their efforts.

L'affaire Chebeya

On 2 June 2010, his body was found in a car near the capital, Kinshasa.

Lema Kusa

He also became CEO of the National Institute of Arts, Kinshasa, a position he was holding in 2008 while also a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts.

In 1958 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa to study advertising painting and illustrations.

Les Palabres de Mboloko

The C.C.A.C.C. had three production centers for its films: One, Edisco-Films in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) made Les Palabres de Mboloko.

Louis-Philippe Dalembert

Since leaving Haiti, this polyglot vagabond (he juggles seven languages) has lived in Nancy, Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, Brazzaville, Kinshasa, Florence, and has traveled wherever his steps have taken him ... in the renewed echo of his native land.

Matadi Bridge

Completed in 1983, it has a main span of 520 m, crossing the Congo River, carrying the main highway between the capital Kinshasa and the Atlantic coast.

Mobutu, King of Zaire

Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released.

Ndjili

Ndjili, Kinshasa, also known as N'djili or N'Djili, a commune of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ngandu Kasongo

Cyrille Kasongo Ngandu Nzembele (born 6 December 1979 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese football, who currently plays for TP Mazembe.

Nuclear energy in Belgium

In 1959, the Trico Center was established in Kinshasa its TRICO I research reactor was the first nuclear reactor on the African continent.

Olivier Strelli

Strelli was born in 1946 in Kinshasa, Belgian Congo the son of Italian and Greek Jews from the island of Rhodes who had migrated there in the early 20th century.

Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste

The Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste (OSK) is an all-black Congolese orchestra located in Kinshasa.

Patrick Kabongo

Watshidimba "Patrick" Kabongo (born June 27, 1979 in Kinshasa, Zaire) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman with the BC Lions.

Politics of Zambia

Zambia was active in the Congolese peace effort after the signing of a cease-fire agreement in Lusaka in July and August 1999, although activity diminished considerably after the Joint Military Commission tasked with implementing the ceasefire relocated to Kinshasa in September 2001.

Ricardo Lemvo

Lemvo grew up in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and moved to the United States at age 15 to continue his education.

Richard Ekunde

Richard Ntomba Ekunde (born 4 August 1982 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese footballer who plays as a defender who plays for the Norwegian club Viking.

RTBF International

On 26 June 2006, RTBF International began broadcasting in FM in Kinshasa on 99.2 MHz.

The Clockwork Atom Bomb

The story follows Mativi, a UN Weapons Inspector who is in Kinshasa and discovers several powerful and illegal devices left over from a Congolese war.

The Forgotten Children of Congo

From the remoteness of the Congo Basin, to the capital Kinshasa and the volatile Ituri Province in the East, this documentary focuses on the plight of the country's street children.

Tommy Sylvestre

Born in Kinshasa, Sylvestre moved to Lome and began playing club football for local side Étoile Filante de Lomé.

TPOK Jazz

The OK Jazz band was formed in 1956 in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), in what was at the time known as the Belgian Congo, later as Zaire and today as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The band started to fall apart with the defection of Malage de Lugendo and Dizzy and Decca who returned to Kinshasa to pursue other opportunities.

They used to play at Loningisa Studios in Kinshasa as individual artists, before they got together to form a band in June 1956.

In 1979 Franco moved his recording base from Kinshasa to Brussels, Belgium to take advantage of superior recording facilities.

Union des Banques Congolaises

In 1920, the Banque de Bruxelles established the Crédit General du Congo, with its administrative headquarters in Brussels, and its corporate headquarters in Léopoldville.

Victoire Terminus

Victoire Terminus is a French 2008 documentary film about women's boxing in Kinshasa.

Wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Unemployment and urbanization throughout Central Africa have exacerbated the problem further by turning cities like the urban sprawl of Kinshasa into the prime market for bushmeat.

Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

In 2010, along with Binyavanga Wainaina, she participated in the Chinua Achebe Center's "Pilgrimages" project and travelled to Kinshasa, and intends to produce a book about her experiences.

Zebola

It originated among the Mongo people but is also practised among various ethnic groups in Kinshasa.


Bas-Congo

At the time of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the province was part of the greater province of Leopoldville, along with the city of Kinshasa and the districts of Kwango, Kwilu and Mai-Ndombe.

Boseko Lokombo

Boseko "Bo" Lokombo (born October 15, 1990 in Kinshasa, Congo) is an American football linebacker for the Oregon Ducks.

Cupidesthes thyrsis

It is found in Equatorial Guinea (Bioko), Gabon, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ubangi, Uele, Tshopo, Equateur, Kinshasa, Sankuru and Lualaba).

Ghislaine Dupont

In 2006, she was expelled by the Kinshasa government of Kabila between the first and second round of the presidential election.

Gladys Bokese

Starting his career at Kinshasha club AS Bandal he then joined Kinshasa giants Daring Club Motema Pembe with Mbala Mbuta Biscotte and Ngasanya Ilongo, where he would become a mainstay, winning the Linafoot thrice (2004, 2005, 2008) and the Coupe du Congo twice (2009, 2010) and captaining the team before leaving for Etoile sportive du Sahel from where he was quickly released.

Guy Kabeya Muya

As part of a workshop led by Thierry De Mey of Charleroi Danses he directed the 2007 documentary Cailloux (Pebbles) on informal economic enterprise in Kinshasa.

Kabongo

Eugène Kabongo (born November 3, 1960 in Kinshasa), a former Congolese soccer player

Kintambo

It is situated in the northwest of the city of Kinshasa, at the junction of Boulevard du 30 Juin (or more accurately its short extension, Avenue du Colonel Mondjiba), Avenue Kasa-Vubu and Route de Matadi.

Ligne Aérienne du Roi Albert

Starting from the capital Leopoldville, the route gradually extended upstream, first to Ngombe, later to Lisala and finally to Stanleyville.

Makoma

Nathalie Makoma, born on 24 February 1982 in Kinshasa became, a well-known Dutch-Congolese singer in her own right, .

Mont Ngafula

It is in the hilly southern area of Kinshasa and is intersected by the Lukaya River valley in its southern portion.

Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The 2007 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships states that the Navy is organised into four commands, based at Matadi, near the coast; the capital Kinshasa, further up the Congo river; Kalemie, on Lake Tanganyika; and Goma, on Lake Kivu.

Négritude

Novelist Norman Mailer used the term to describe boxer George Foreman's physical and psychological presence in his book The Fight, a journalistic treatment of the legendary Ali vs. Foreman "Rumble in the Jungle" bout in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in October 1974.

Ngaliema

It stretches south towards Mont Ngaliema and along the main road linking Kinshasa and the city of Matadi in Bas-Congo.

Patricia McMahon Hawkins

She subsequently served as Information Officer in Kinshasa, Zaire, as Public Affairs Officer in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, as Cultural Affairs Officer in Bogotá, Colombia, as Counselor for Public Affairs in Abidjan, Cộte d'Ivoire, where she also served briefly as Acting DCM and then for several months as Chargé d'affaires.

Paulin J. Hountondji

After two years teaching in Besancon (France), in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi (Republic of the Congo), he accepted a post at the Université Nationale du Bénin in Cotonou, where he still teaches as Professor of Philosophy.

Rally for Congolese Democracy

The new RCD leadership's authority was demonstrated after the Kinshasa offensive in November 2000 was defeated at Pweto.

Rank-size distribution

For instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the capital, Kinshasa, is more than eight times larger than the second-largest city, Lubumbashi.

Stodacom

Stodacom is headquartered in Kampala, and with offices in Lagos, Kinshasa, Kigali, Lusaka, Cairo, Algiers, Pretoria, and Accra.

ULK

Université Libre de Kinshasa, a private university in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo