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André Grenard Matswa (17 January 1899 – 13 January 1942) was a Congolese Lari anti-colonial activist born near Manzakala-
Kinkala Kinkala is a town located in southeastern Republic of the Congo. It is the capital city of Kinkala District and the Pool Region Pool ( kg, Mpumbu, Nsundi, Mbula Ntangu) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part ...
in then
Middle Congo Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...
, a rare influential figure in Congolese politics before independence in 1960. He inspired a messianic cult, Matswanism or Matsouanism, that emerged in the
French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...
n capital, Brazzaville.


Life

Matswa or Matsoua (in Kikongo) was born in 1899 in a small village of Loukoua-Nzoko in French Congo. In 1925, he joined the
Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...
and participated in the
Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several de ...
. In 1926, Matsoua founded Amicale des Originaires de l'A.E.F., a self-improvement group, while living in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. He attended events sponsored by the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...
and helped develop black-based
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
s. Many came to consider Matsoua as a divine prophet, sent by God to liberate the Congolese from the French. According to author Victor T. Le Vine, Matsoua was comparable to
Kimbangu Simon Kimbangu (September 12, 1887 – October 12, 1951) was a Democratic Republic of Congo, Congolese religious leader who founded the Christianity, Christian new religious movement Kimbanguism. Kimbanguists consider him to be an incarnation of ...
, becoming a "martyr in the eyes of his followers" and developing a "quasi-religious aura". In December 1929, he was arrested in Paris and set to be tried in Brazzaville, under the fallacious motive of swindling money of the African Indigenous people in French Congo. The money from free and voluntary contributions to the Indigenous people was also seized by the colonial administration. When Matsoua returned to Africa in 1930, he was tried by the colonial government in Brazzaville for anti colonialism. On 19 March 1930, Matsoua asked the Court of Brazzaville for him to be tried as a French citizen with reasons of his naturalization and arrest in French territory. He was sentenced by the Court of Brazzaville to 3 years of imprisonment and was banned for 10 years from stepping into French Congo on 2 April 1930. A week later, he was sentenced to exile for ten years in Chad, where he escaped from Fort Lamy, Chad in 1935 and fled to France. In 1940, during World War II, he was wounded on the front in
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
during fighting against the Germans and was sent to
Beaujon Hospital The Beaujon Hospital () is located in Clichy, Paris, France and is operated by APHDP. It was named after Nicolas Beaujon, an eighteenth-century French banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and cr ...
in Paris for treatment. On 3 April 1940, he was arrested in his hospital bed in Paris under the accusation of attacking French state security members. He was then transferred back to French Congo and sentenced to forced labor in Brazzaville in February 1941. He was alleged to have spread pro-German propaganda around the capital. On 20 February 1941, he arrived in Mayama prison and spent another 11 months behind bars, having been tortured and beaten. He died in the prison on 13 January 1942.


Legacy

After independence, Congolese politicians of many ideological shades attempted to capitalize on Matsoua's popularity, including Presidents Abbé
Fulbert Youlou Abbé Fulbert Youlou (29 June,In ''African Powder Keg: Revolt and Dissent in Six Emergent Nations'', author Ronald Matthews lists Youlou's date of birth as 9 June 1917. This date is also listed in ''Annuaire parlementaire des États d'Afrique noi ...
,
Alphonse Massamba-Débat Alphonse Massamba-Débat (February 11, 1921 – March 25, 1977) was a political figure of the Republic of the Congo who led the country from 1963 until 1968 in a one-party system. Biography Early life He was born in the small village of Nkolo, Bo ...
and
Denis Sassou-Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
, as well as the insurgent leader Bernard Kolélas. There is a statue honoring him in
Kinkala Kinkala is a town located in southeastern Republic of the Congo. It is the capital city of Kinkala District and the Pool Region Pool ( kg, Mpumbu, Nsundi, Mbula Ntangu) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part ...
.


See also

*
List of messiah claimants This is a list of notable people who have been said to be a messiah, either by themselves or by their followers. The list is divided into categories, which are sorted according to date of birth (where known). Jewish messiah claimants In Judaism, ...


Bibliography

* Bruce Mateso, ''André Grenard Matsoua : Les fondements de l'Amicale'', Paari éditeur, 2020. * Didier Gondola, ''Mastwa vivant: Anticolonialisme et citoyenneté en Afrique-Équatoriale Française'', Paris, Les Éditions de La Sorbonne, 2021.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsoua, Andre 1899 births 1942 deaths Prisoners who died in French detention Republic of the Congo clergy Republic of the Congo people who died in prison custody Republic of the Congo politicians People from Pool Department French military personnel of World War II Torture victims