Luc Nkulula (October 18, 1985 - June 10, 2018) was a

Congolese Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

political activist and leader of the pro-democracy movement ''lutte pour le changement'' (LUCHA).

Biography

Nkulula was born in

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi ( , ; former ; former ) is the second-largest Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital ...

, a city in southern Congo, and grew up between there and

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

in the east of the country. He obtained a law degree from the University of Goma, after which he worked as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

for various

international organization An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own le ...

s. Nkulula joined LUCHA, a Congolese pro-democracy movement, upon its creation in 2012 and became one of its leading members. He represented the movement at a meeting with President

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...

in 2016, where he criticized the president for his lack of action for the violence-plagued east of the country and urged him to relinquish power peacefully. Nkulula's activism involved encouraging young people in his country to be involved in public affairs. From his leading role in a campaign to improve access to safe drinking water in Goma, he was often known by the nickname "H2O". Nkulula died on the night of June 9–10, 2018 as his house burnt down. The death was deemed "suspicious" by other LUCHA members, even though "an investigation blamed a faulty solar panel". He was eulogized by

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

as "one of Congo’s bravest campaigners for democracy and free elections."

References

1985 births 2018 deaths People from Goma Democratic Republic of the Congo activists {{Africa-activist-stub