Kinshasa, May 29th, 2025 (CPA)-A posthumous prize called ‘Mwangaza ya Afrika’ (Light of Africa) was awarded on Thursday in Kinshasa to the writer-philosopher Valentin-Yve Mudimbe from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at a ceremony organized by the African Observatory for Positive Sanction and Peace Values (OASP).
‘You are leaving us a perpetual legacy, in recognition of which the OASP is going to award you the posthumous prize. The OASP joins in all the initiatives in the Congo, Africa and the world for this man of conviction, a man steeped in the university of knowledge, a true and legitimate pride for the black continent’, declared Jack Kabwik Nawej, commissioner of the African Observatory of Positive Sanction and Peace Values (OASP). ‘When this wonderful opportunity arises to say a word about such a great master of the African intelligentsia, we are filled with a double doubt. Will these tributes be equal to the stature of this world-renowned professor, philosopher, writer, anthropologist and bilingual researcher? The evocation of Mudimbe’s name restores to Africa its identity, diluted by causes that are harmful and deadly to its soul’, he added. Professor SIM Kilosho, head of the SIM Livres pour les Grands Lacs library, spoke of Mudimbe’s attachment to books.
‘Mudimbe was celebrated during the Mobutu era with the youth activists of the Popular Revolutionary Movement. And yet, in front of the huge crowd that gave him a standing ovation, Mudimbe asked where there was a library, into which he slipped for two hours even though he was supposed to be taking part in the festivities. This is proof enough of his love of books’, revealed Professor SIM Kilosho, head of the library, Sim books for the great lakes. The international prize, known as the ‘Prix Professor Yves Mudimbe’, will soon be awarded to pupils at the end of a spelling, elocution and reading competition organized by the SIM books for the great lakes bookshop in collaboration with OASP, an organization that awards prizes for merit and distinction. It promotes respect for the law, ethics, faith and conviction, the virtues of a job well done, efficiency and determination. CPA/