This site recounts the story of my father Godefroid Munongo, a man whose destiny and deeds remain exceptional.
Born and raised in Bunkeya at the royal court of the Bayeke kingdom, Godefroid Munongo knew from an early age that great things awaited him. Throughout his life, he lived with the abounding love of his country.
Architect of the secession of Katanga, future Interior Minister of Katanga, and future King of the Bayeke, Godefroid Munongo was first a family man, friend to many people, and a devoted husband to his wife Clothilde Banza Mulenda with whom he had nine children, Christian, Sympho, Claude, Dominique, Marie-Ange, Odile, Godefroid, Eric, and Patrick.
Family patriarch of the Bayeke people, as the Mwami Wihala (1976-1992), Godefroid Munongo was devoted to the development and consolidation of the Bayeke kingdom. Grandson of Emperor M’siri, Godefroid Munongo carried the dreams of his illustrious grandfather to heart, the dreams of a strong and sovereign Katanga, those of a united and indivisible Family, and a sustainable Yeke culture, of which he was the guarantor during his reign.
Godefroid Munongo was a man of uncommon humility. His life was marked by many acts of selflessness that did nothing but raise his stature in society. First, he set about strengthening family ties. As his ancestors did, he opened his heart and home, with the help of his beloved wife Clothilde Mulenda Banza, to his entire family, close relatives, as well as distant ones. Blessed with limited financial means, he made a point of honor to share what little he had with those who were poor. He paid for the humanities and university studies of several youths, contributed to funerals of those who lacked the means to receive proper burial, and in so doing, preserved their dignity; he repatriated to Katanga those who had died far away, and helped to build habitats for others. Godefroid Munongo would have frowned upon anyone speaking of his good deeds, especially his acts of generosity which he liked to keep secret.
He preferred modesty and magnanimity to bragging . This is why he chose the name of Shyombeka we Shyalo, which means the builder of the country in the literal sense. Figuratively, it means the architect, the one who consolidates the homeland, family, togetherness. Unequivocally, I maintain that he was worthy of the name.
With hesitation, he spoke of the Katanga secession. And when he did, it was with moderation, as if the setback was only a postponement of the inevitable. What could he have done differently, could he have been more diplomatic, to seduce the international community, which arbitrarily decides the self-determination of some, while rejecting that of others?
Godefroid Munongo left us a rich history and it is my honor and responsibility to tell it. Of his exceptional life, interrupted for reasons that are obvious to us, his family, we hang on to his dreams. He had dreams of a strong and sovereign Katanga, a united and indivisible family of M’siri, as well as the sustainability of the Yeke culture.
Godefroid Munongo died, but his dreams live on.
Mwanangwa Patrick Kalenga Mushyalila Munong
– GODEFROID MUNONGO: SON OF KATANGA (Click here to read)
– THE STRONG MAN OF KATANGA (Click here to read)
– GODEFROID MUNONGO: FATHER, KING, AND STATESMAN (Click here to read)
– THE PASSING OF A GREAT MAN (Click here to read)