CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) \u2014 One fan is standing tall above all others at the Africa Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n
He has even brought a pedestal to make sure.<\/p>\n
Congo supporter Michel Nkuka Mboladinga has become a social media star for posing as a statue of the country\u2019s assassinated independence hero Patrice Lumumba during games.<\/p>\n
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Lumumba Vea, as the sharply dressed supporter is known for his resemblance to the slain leader, raises his right arm and stays perfectly still, adopting the position of the Lumumba memorial statue in Kinshasa, and holds the pose for the entirety of games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remain still to give strength to the team, to give energy to the players,\u201d Nkuka Mboladinga told The Associated Press during an interview in his hotel room in Casablanca this week.<\/p>\n
He said it was his last before the team plays Algeria in Rabat on Tuesday. Nkuka Mboladinga was clearly exhausted from relentless media attention after Congo\u2019s first three games in the tournament, and exasperated after it seemed every media outlet had spelled his name wrong.<\/p>\n
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But he was grateful for the attention and pleased to bring Lumumba\u2019s support to the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the one who gave us the freedom to express ourselves,\u201d Nkuka Mboladinga said of the Congolese leader. \u201cHe sacrificed his life for us, to give us liberty. So he\u2019s a hero for us, Lumumba is a spirit for us, he\u2019s a model for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped end Belgium\u2019s colonial rule over Congo in 1960. He became the new independent country\u2019s first prime minister and was seen as one of Africa\u2019s most promising new leaders, but he was killed within a year during a struggle against a Belgian-backed secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region.<\/p>\n
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Questions have persisted over how complicit Belgium and the United States may have been<\/a> in his death. A Belgian parliamentary probe later determined the government was \u201cmorally responsible\u201d for Lumumba\u2019s death. A U.S. Senate committee found in 1975 that the CIA had hatched a separate, failed plan to kill the Congolese leader.<\/p>\n For many in Congo, Lumumba remains a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved<\/a> after its independence. Instead, it became mired in decades of dictatorship that drained its vast mineral riches.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like family,\u201d Nkuka Mboladinga said of the visionary leader.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Nkuka Mboladinga rehearses before each match by staying still for 45 to 50 minutes at a time. With Congo through to the knockout round<\/a>, he also faces the prospect of having to stay in statue mode through extra time and penalties, when the fans around him are anything but.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult,\u201d he acknowledged about staying still while supporters dance around and behind him. \u201cEveryone plays their part, they play their role and I am in mine.\u201d<\/p>\n He hasn\u2019t met the players yet but has heard they appreciate his efforts.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThe players know me, but I haven\u2019t spoken with them personally. They\u2019re very happy with what I\u2019m doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n