Papa Wemba

Papa Wemba (real name Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba) is back in Kinshasa. It feels strangely circular since his was the very first concert we went to on arrival here 16 months ago. And now we think we may be leaving at the end of the month, packing our stuff and heading to London for a bit, although we reserve the right to return later in the year.

So last night we went to see the King of Congolese rumba receive the title of Ambassador Against Mines and sing the song which will henceforth be associated in DRC with mine risk education, “Show me the way” (initially a duet with Peter Gabriel). Dressed to the nines in a dapper suit, Papa Wemba, famous for his flamboyant style, grinned broadly when he was offered a lamp fashioned from a recycled rocket, with his name and new title on it. “Maintenant, c’est fini Papa Wemba… Son Excellence!” he exclaimed, much to the delight of the Congolese in the audience.

Picture kindly donated by Fred

I've temporarily given up taking pictures, until I buy myself a proper camera with decent battery life.

Although disappointingly short, the concert was good fun, and Papa Wemba’s dancers were amazing as ever.

For those who are interested, the mine risk education project is run by a British NGO called MAG (Mines Advisory Group) and funded by UNICEF. It aims to raise awareness about the risk presented by mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO): in DRC over 850 people have been killed and more than a thousand wounded by anti-personal mines since the end of the war in 2003. During the same period, 30,000 UXO were destroyed.