18 Facts About Albert Kalonji

Albert Kalonji was a Congolese politician and businessman from the Luba ya Kasai nobility.

Albert Kalonji was elected emperor of the Baluba ya Kasai and later became king of the Federated State of South Kasai.

In 1960, Albert Kalonji was elected emperor of the Lubas and head of state of South Kasai by the nobility the ministers and the Kasaian people.

Albert Kalonji was crowned by the church and the Luba tribe on 12 April 1961.

Albert Kalonji was born on 6 June 1929, in Hemptinne Saint-Benoit near present-day Kananga.

Albert Kalonji attended Scheut Missionaries-run Catholic schools in Lusambo before studying at an agricultural school in Kisantu for five years.

Albert Kalonji was invited to Brussels for the 1958 World's Fair and joined the Congolese National Movement that same year.

In September 1962, Albert Kalonji was overthrown in a military coup instigated by his prime minister, Joseph Ngalula.

Albert Kalonji then went into exile in Spain for 18 months.

Albert Kalonji served as a minister from 1964 to 1965 under Moise Tshombe, leaving the government shortly before Mobutu's coup.

Albert Kalonji died on 20 April 2015, in Mbuji-Mayi, at the age of 85.

Albert Kalonji was buried in the village of Katende.

Unlike Tshombe, Albert Kalonji shrank from declaring full independence from the Congo and rather declared its "autonomy" with a hypothetical, federalised Congo.

On 16 July, In April 1961, Albert Kalonji took the royal title Mulopwe to tie the state more closely to the pre-colonial Luba Empire.

The act divided the South Kasaian authorities and Albert Kalonji was disavowed by the majority of South Kasai's parliamentary representatives in Leopoldville.

In exile in Europe, Albert Kalonji still claimed the title Souverain Possesseur des Terres occupees par les Balubas.

Albert Kalonji wrote about his experiences in Memorandum: Ma lutte, au Kasai, pour la Verite au service de la Justice and Congo 1960.

Albert Kalonji died in April 2015 and was buried in Katende.