Kinshasa, August 4th, 2025 (CPA).- The first edition of the Mpangi (Brothers) Festival is scheduled to take place from August16th to 17th in Kikwit, in the province of Kwilu (south-west DRC), as a posthumous tribute to the famous singer King Kester Emeneya, the CPA has learned on Monday from the organiser. « King Kester Emeneya remains the benchmark, image and icon of our culture. Kikwit is the city where he was born. However, we should not miss this opportunity to remind everyone who will listen how much of an impact this man had on society as a whole. We are grateful for his major cultural contributions to the Greater Bandundu region, » has declared Claver Ndombe, promoter and coordinator of the festival.
‘This event will be an opportunity for us to pay him a well-deserved tribute, through the artists who will perform his songs, but also the stylish gentlemen who will parade (…). All eyes will be on them during the Carnival, which will begin at the foot of the monument dedicated to this illustrious personality,’ he has precised.
Beyond the tribute, the Mpangi Festival aims to be a gathering of the sons and daughters of ‘Grand Bandundu’ around the cultural expressions that shape their identity: music, gastronomy, fashion and craftsmanship, according to the organiser. ‘This event serves as a bridge between the past, present and future, affirming that culture remains the unshakeable foundation of a united community,’ he has supported. The Mpangi Festival promises to be a lively celebration of the musical and cultural heritage left by the artist and an opportunity to reaffirm community ties through culture, with activities including performances of his songs by various musicians and parades of stylish gentlemen, a fashion movement popularised by the artist. King Kester, whose real name was Jean Baptiste Emeneya Mubiala, died on February 13th, 2014 at the Marie Lannelongue Hospital in the Paris region at the age of 57.
A native of Kikwit, where he began singing in the choir of Saint Paul’s School in the parish of Sainte Marie, Emeneya perfected his singing skills alongside Mopero and Gina Efongé, his idol, before joining Viva La Musica between 1978 and 1982, an orchestra set up by the late Papa Wemba. His musical career, marked by an innovative style blending rumba, funk and electronic music, gave rise to landmark albums such as ‘Le Jour le plus long’, ‘Mboka Mboka’, ‘Longue histoire’ and ‘Succès fou’.