DR Congo plays its first ever World Cup knockout match against England on Wednesday but does so without famed superfan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, more widely known as ‘Lumumba Vea.’
Lumumba Vea has been a presence at DR Congo matches for more than a decade, coming to greater international prominence during the Africa Cup of Nations in December and January. He is an unmissable presence in the crowd, standing statue still, arm raised in a pose and outfit intended to mimic Congolese independence leader and prime minister Patrice Lumumba—assassinated in 1961.
Mboladinga was forced to miss DR Congo’s first World Cup match, the historic 1–1 draw with Portugal at the start of the group stage because of quarantining protocol related to an Ebola outbreak back home. But he was in place to see the team run Colombia close.
However, Lumumba Vea was missing from the subsequent win against Uzbekistan that took DR Congo into the World Cup knockout phase after being denied a visa for entry into the United States.
So while the Portugal match was in Houston, he wouldn’t have been able to attend anyway because of the quarantine. The team faced Colombia in Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico, before Lumumba Vea stayed behind south of the border as DR Congo then flew to Atlanta.
The England match is again at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and the situation with the visa for Mboladinga hasn’t changed. It means he remains waiting in Mexico.
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Could Lumumba Vea Still be at Other World Cup Matches?
It is not the last that World Cup fans have seen of Lumumba Vea—for two reasons. Someone else will fill a similar role in the crowd against England, the Daily Telegraph has been informed by the DR Congo ambassador to the United States.
There is also the possibility that DR Congo, although huge underdogs, beats England to progress. The World Cup bracket has already mapped out that the winner of the match goes forward to play Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, obviously back in Mexico.
But that would be the last match held in Mexico, with all subsequent rounds from the quarterfinals onwards—on any pathway—are in the United States. So if DR Congo pulls off the seemingly impossible and goes deep into the tournament, the only way the true Lumumba Vea will be there in person is if Mboladinga can somehow gain legal entry into America.
