The Ghost of Lumumba and the Silent Stand: Nigeria 2 : Algeria 0

Photo by Msn

This hits hard. Even if you aren't a football fan, what’s happening at AFCON right now is about so much more than a ball hitting a net; it’s about blood, memory, and the soul of a continent.

There is a man who always stands during the match when the Democratic Republic of the Congo plays. He remains perfectly still with his hands raised for the full 90 minutes.

To understand why that man stands, you have to understand the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the late 19th century, King Leopold II of Belgium turned the Congo into a personal labor camp. It wasn't just colonization; it was a holocaust. Millions died through forced labor, torture, and the infamous practice of chopping off hands if rubber quotas weren't met.

1. 1885: The "Owner" of 20 Million Souls

At the Berlin Conference, King Leopold II of Belgium didn't claim Congo for Belgium; he claimed it for himself. He named it the Congo Free State. It was a massive lie. For 23 years, he ran the country as a private plantation.

The Red Rubber Reign: Leopold’s private army, the Force Publique, forced villagers to gather wild rubber. If a village didn't meet its quota, the soldiers would cut off the hands of the children and wives to "punish" the men.

The Toll: Historians estimate that between 1885 and 1908, nearly 10 million Congolese people died from murder, exhaustion, and disease.

King Leopold II of Belgium in a photo with a man hand he cut off

1885, the territory of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared the private property of the Belgian king, Leopold II, and in 1908 it then became a colony of the Belgian state. The colonial era was accompanied by reckless exploitation of people and nature. Millions of people lost their lives to slavery and forced labour, disease and famine.

Left: This boy was named Impongi. Sentries cut off one hand and one foot because his village failed to meet its rubber quota.

Right: The seated youth is Mola. His hands were destroyed by gangrene after soldiers tied him too tightly. Beside him is Yola. Soldiers cut off her hand, then claimed it came from a rubber worker they had killed. This photo was used by the missionary Alice Seeley Harris, who campaigned against Leopold in England. (By African History group)

2. 1908 – 1960: From Personal Slave State to Colony

After the world found out about the severed hands, the Belgian government took the land from the King and turned it into the Belgian Congo. The exploitation didn't stop; it just became "organized." They extracted gold, diamonds, and copper using forced labor. The Congolese had zero rights, no quality education, and were treated as sub-human in their own home.

3. The Rise and Execution of Patrice Lumumba

By the late 1950s, the hunger for freedom was boiling. A young, charismatic postal clerk named Patrice Lumumba emerged as the voice of the people.

June 30, 1960 (Independence Day): King Baudouin of Belgium gave a speech praising Leopold II. Lumumba stood up, uninvited, and delivered a legendary "blood, sweat, and tears" speech, telling the King to his face that the Congolese were no longer slaves.

The Target: Lumumba became Prime Minister. But because he wanted Congo’s minerals (uranium and copper) to benefit Africans rather than the West, Belgium and the US (CIA) labeled him a communist threat.

January 17, 1961: After being deposed in a coup backed by the West, Lumumba was captured. He was beaten, tortured, and flown to Katanga. That night, Belgian officers and their local executioners shot him.

The Ultimate Cruelty: To ensure he never became a martyr with a grave, a Belgian police commissioner named Gerard Soete took Lumumba’s body, hacked it into pieces, and dissolved it in sulfuric acid. All that remained was a single gold-capped tooth, which Soete kept as a "trophy" in Belgium for decades.

When independence finally came in 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the first prime minister. He was a hero who dared to say that Congo’s riches belonged to its people, not Europe. Because of this, the US (CIA) and Belgium orchestrated his assassination in 1961. They didn't just kill him; they dissolved his body in acid to leave no grave.

That man you see standing during matches is a living monument. He stands to remind the world that, despite the genocide and theft of their land, the Congolese spirit hasn't moved.

Recently:

During a recent match, an Algerian player chose to mock this man after their win. To the player, it was "banter." For the Congolese man, it felt like a knife piercing an unhealed wound. When that man broke down in tears, he wasn't crying over a lost game; he was crying because the Algerian player was laughing at his people's trauma and showing disrespect. It was a display of utter ignorance and a lack of "Ubuntu"—the African philosophy of shared humanity.

Then came the match between Nigeria and Algeria. Nigeria didn't just win 2-0; they played with a mission. When the Super Eagles scored, the celebration wasn't an insult—it was a tribute. A Nigerian player stood still and raised his hands, mirroring the Congolese hero. It was a message: We see you. We remember. We respect the struggle.

While the Algerian side reportedly lost their composure, even trying to confront the referee in a display of poor sportsmanship, the Super Eagles restored the dignity that had been stripped away days prior.

Akor Adam celebrating his goal against Algeria (left) | Patrice Lumumba's statue in Kinshasa (right)

AFCON is beautiful because of our dances and our colors, but it’s sacred because of our shared history. You cannot "play" with the symbols of freedom. Belgium and the West tried to erase Lumumba, but they failed because his story lives in every Congolese person and every African who stands with them.

Whether you’re a football fan or a total fanatic, listen up. I have heard accounts of individuals resorting to violence, including stabbing one another, over disagreements related to football. My only response is that such behavior is utterly foolish. Plain and simple. That footballer is going to keep playing for his team, making his millions, while you’re sitting in a cell 'chilling' with your fellow inmates.

Have the spirit of sportsmanship and use it the right way. Some people will disagree with you, and your team will lose some matches. That’s life; you don’t win every battle. There is zero reason to harm or disrespect another human being over a game. Most of you have never met these players, and many of you never will. Enjoy the game, but be respectful. Use your brain. Don’t be foolish and talk trash just to call it 'fanaticism.' That isn’t passion; it’s stupidity.

The Algerian player has learned his lesson the hard way. If you’re in the habit of getting aggressive and losing your mind when watching sports, you need to calm the hell down and stop that stupid display. I said what I said. Calm the hell down.

Happy Sunday.