DR Congo super fan Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, known across AFCON 2025 as “the statue man”, continued to capture hearts even as his team exited the tournament in heartbreaking fashion.
Congo were knocked out in the last 16 on Tuesday after a 1-0 defeat to Algeria, sealed by Adil Boulbina’s goal in the 119th minute just as both sides were preparing for penalties.
Mboladinga had become a unique symbol of the competition, standing motionless with his arm raised for the full 90 minutes of every DR Congo match, turning himself into a living statue. His stance was a deliberate tribute to Patrice Lumumba, the country’s first elected prime minister after independence in 1960, who was assassinated in 1961.
In the middle of noisy stadiums, Mboladinga chose complete silence, sending a powerful political and historical message and embodying collective grief and nostalgia for Lumumba’s values.
Viral videos showed him frozen in place even during goal celebrations, like a bronze figure among a sea of emotion. But after Boulbina’s late winner, the “statue” finally collapsed to the ground in tears, a dramatic fall that symbolised both DR Congo’s elimination and the end of one of AFCON 2025’s most striking icons.
