Katanga Troops on a Train at Lwena

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. “Katanga Troops on a Train at Lwena” is a well-recorded composition within TKM’s oeuvre that depicts an event that took place on July 23, 1960, very soon after the Republic of Congo had gained independence from Belgium on June 30. Many of TKM’s paintings specifically focus on Katanga province, a region that became increasingly politicized during the 1960s and 1970s. Moïse Tshombe (backed by Belgian mining interests) declared the State of Katanga independent from the Republic of Congo on July 11. The Luba, a local indigenous group, were divided between supporting the secessionist movement and the established government. TKM described the scene at Lwena (Luena) station as follows: “Katanga soldiers are getting off the train. They are headed for the border, where they will meet the Luba who, in order to prevent them from entering their country, have cut the rails. So they start killing each other in that place. The Katangese are shooting, and they have support from planes” (Fabian, “Remembering the Present: Painting and Popular History in Zaire,” 111). The planes represent international intervention in the conflict.