Liberation de la Ville de Kisangani (Liberation of the Town of Kisangani)

Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu (often referred to as TKM) was an artist most recognized for his recurring depictions of significant events in Congo’s modern history. In Congo, a market existed for paintings that conveyed specific stories as memory prompts, which were more highly valued than unique creations. TKM had a repertoire of scenes from the arrival of the first explorers to the area through the oppressive Belgian colonial occupation to post-colonial struggles, from which purchasers could select. TKM’s paintings reveal the brutality of Belgian colonialism and its legacy and have, in turn, influenced a tradition of Congolese history painting. His last works were dated 1981 and he has been unreachable since; historians now believe him to be no longer living. “Liberation de la Ville de Kisangani” is lesser known within TKM's oeuvre. Kisangani (referred to by colonizers as Stanleyville and renamed in 1966) is today the capital of the Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The incident represented here could relate to what has been referred to as the Congo Crisis or could refer to events in 1966 and 1967, when Katangese forces mutinied against the national Congolese army. The presence of paratroopers descending from a plane labelled “AIR FORCE USA” and a building in the background identified as the National Bank of Congo Stanleyville indicate the international intervention within Congolese history and the enduring colonial legacy.