Ambroise Boimbo (died 1981) was a Congolese citizen who snatched the ceremonial sword of King Baudouin I of Belgium on June 29, 1960, in

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

(now Kinshasa) on the eve of the independence of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. He was a former soldier who originated from Monkoto,

Tshuapa Tshuapa is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Tshuapa, Équateur, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi, and Sud-Ubangi provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Équate ...

. The king's entourage was driving from the airport into the city when it slowed to enable the monarch to stand and salute the flag of an honour guard of the

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...

drawn up by the side of the road. A widely published photograph, taken by journalist Robert Lebeck, shows an exuberant Ambroise Boimbo, in jacket and tie, flourishing the sword while Baudouin and Congolese President

Joseph Kasa-Vubu Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocra ...

appear unaware of the incident. Further photographs taken by Lebeck show Boimbo encircled by Belgian and Congolese colonial

gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

s, as they wrestled him to the ground. According to media reports the "nationalist demonstrator" was taken away in a police vehicle but released later the same day at the king's request. The sword was apparently quickly retrieved and returned to King Baudouin, who was filmed wearing it at the Independence speech-making ceremonies the next day on June 30. Ambroise Boimbo subsequently worked as an electrician. He died in 1981 and is interred at the

Kintambo Kintambo is a municipality (''commune'') in the Lukunga district of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated in the northwest of the city of Kinshasa, at the junction of ''Boulevard du 30 Juin'' (or more ...

cemetery.

Legacy

To some commentators the seizure of the sword symbolized the real independence of the Congo, although others saw it as simply an instance of high-spirited behavior at a time of celebration. A small Belgian film crew travelled to the Congo in 2009 and 2010 to document their search for Boimbo, releasing a documentary, ''Boyamba Belgique, or, Why a king should not lose his sword.''

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n artist Mary Sibande noted an interest in Boimbo's motivations in a 2019 interview.

References

External links

Robert Lebeck photo
on the '' Stern'' website 20th-century births 1980s deaths People from Tshuapa Electricians {{DRCongo-bio-stub