DRC: call for a collective national conscience on April 6th (a Congolese historian)

Kinshasa, April 6th, 2025 (CPA) – April 6th, a day dedicated to the struggle of Simon Kimbangu and to African consciousness, has been recommended as one of the first dates for a collective national consciousness, CPA learned on Sunday in an interview with a socio-cultural leader. « In my opinion, the Congolese government should make this date one of the first steps towards a collective national consciousness. To that end, I recommend to put in place a reassuring cultural policy to support this ’emblematic’ date », has declared Gasmil Mvuyi, a socio-cultural leader. « The struggle of Simon Kimbangu is of such importance that we (Congolese) have come to recognise it. For nearly two years now, this date has been celebrated in memory of the struggle led by Simon Kimbangu, and is part of the African Conscience. Indeed, the colonial resistance is a reality. It has prevented the rapid transformation of our customs, beliefs, religious practices and above all our traditional societies in general », has explained the speaker. In this regard, Gasmil Mvuyi continues, « A memorial of this kind could be built to federate our Congolese consciousness, because today, the question of memory has also become a diplomatic and political tool in the management of international relations ». On April 6th, 1921, when the Congo was still a Belgian colony, Simon Kimbangu is said to have received a revelation preaching the emancipation of the black man in the face of colonisation. According to his followers, Simon Kimbangu has sacrificed himself to free the Congolese from the Belgian colonial authorities. A true figure of resistance, his struggle is seen as an awakening of African consciousness. The President Felix Tshisekedi has decreed, by his order number 23/042 of March 30th, April 6th of each year as a legal holiday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in memory of the fight of Simon Kimbangu and of the African conscience.