{"id":3866,"date":"2026-01-22T19:27:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/congo-sports-minister-gifts-luxury-car-to-the-statue-fan"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:20:00","slug":"congo-sports-minister-gifts-luxury-car-to-the-statue-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/sport\/congo-sports-minister-gifts-luxury-car-to-the-statue-fan","title":{"rendered":"Congo: Sports Minister Gifts Luxury Car to the “Statue Fan”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Congolese fan Michel Kouka, famously known as “Lumumba”, received a luxury car from the Minister of Sports and Entertainment of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Didier Budimbu, in recognition of his support for the national team during the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, where he became known as the “statue fan.”<\/p>\n

Videos showed the moment Lumumba received the car from the minister and posed for commemorative photos, wearing outfits similar to those he wore during the Congolese team\u2019s matches in the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.<\/p>\n

He also struck the same posture inspired by the historic Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo after independence in 1960.<\/p>\n

Minister Budimbu praised the fan on his X account, saying:<\/p>\n

“Thank you to our ambassador Lumumba for the services he has rendered to the nation. He truly deserves this.”<\/p>\n

Michel Kouka drew attention during the tournament due to his unique cheering style, as well as his striking resemblance to the historic leader Patrice E\u0301mery Lumumba.<\/p>\n

The famous fan\u2019s journey in the Africa Cup ended after Congo lost 1-0 to Algeria in extra time during the round of 16, showing his emotions by crying and collapsing in sorrow, earning widespread public sympathy.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. Congolese fan Michel Kouka, famously known as “Lumumba”, received a luxury car from the Minister of Sports and Entertainment of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Didier Budimbu, in recognition of his support for the national team during the latest edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, where he became known as the “statue fan.” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-3866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sport","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nCongo: Sports Minister Gifts Luxury Car to the "Statue Fan" - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. 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