Members of the nonprofit organization Bana Kin fondly remember one of their own, Papa Wemba, who passed away in 2014 after experiencing a medical emergency during a concert at a festival in Côte d'Ivoire. He was there performing with his group Viva La Musica at a show for the Festival of Urban Music of Anoumabo in Côte d’Ivoire.

They have put up several banners across the city of Kinshasa without announcing the activities, to pay tribute to him. For their part, the Sapeurs (fashion lovers) organized a parade on Monday, April 21, during which they flaunted fashion labels' designer clothes around the monument dedicated to this artist in Matonge neighborhood in the Kalamu commune of Kinshasa.

His real name Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, "Bakala dia Kuba" was born on June 14, 1949, in Lubefu, in what is today’s Sankuru province.

He died on April 24, 2016, in Côte d'Ivoire. He was the co-founder and leader of the record label Viva la Musica with his former mistress Shagi Sharufa.

Shaungu Wembadio recruited and trained renowned stars of Congolese music. This includes King Kester Emeneya, Awilo Longomba, and Reddy Amisi.

He was also successful in the film industry, particularly in the movie "La vie est belle" where he played the leading role.

Seven years after his death, in 2021, his residence located in the Ma Campagne neighborhood in the Ngaliema commune, purchased by the Congolese government, was turned into a national heritage site and has since been transformed into the "Musée de la rumba congolaise" (Museum of Congolese Rumba). The keys were handed over to the officials of the National Museums Institute.

The keys to the residence that once belonged to the late Papa Wemba, which was purchased in 2022 by the state and declared a museum of Congolese rumba, were handed over on Monday to the general director of the National Museums Institute of Congo by the Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, during the celebration of African Music Day, a commemorative date of the passing of the Congolese artist.

“The primary role of this Rumba Museum is to gather and organize the collections of rare and precious objects from the entire history of Rumba. The scientific, technical, and artistic collections that have made Papa Wemba and all the other musicians known will be preserved in order to protect them and display them to everyone who will want to see and admire them,” stated the Minister of Culture and Arts, Ms. Catherine Kathungu Furaha, on that occasion.

Boni Tsala