Simon Kimbangu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simon Kimbangu (September 24, ca. 1889, Nkamba, near Thysville, Congo Free State [now Mbanza-Ngungu, Congo (Kinshasa)] - October 10, 1951, Élisabethville, Belgian Congo [now Lubumbashi, Congo]) was a Congolese religious leader noted as the founder of Kimbanguism. His followers consider him to be a prophet.

Son of a traditional religious leader, he became a Baptist in 1915, and worked as a catechist for several years before beginning his own ministry in early 1921. It was claimed that he had cured the sick and his ministry developed a large following, causing suspicion amongst the Belgian authorities.

In September 1921 he was arrested and charged with sedition. Convicted, he was sentenced to death. However, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with 120 lashes. He died in prison in 1951.

During his thirty years of imprisonment, he continued to be regarded as a spiritual leader, despite being denied contact with his followers, and also became a symbol of Congolese nationalism.