Mwazulu Diyabanza

Mwazulu Diyabanza
Born	Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza Kinshasa, DR Congo
Occupation	Pan-African political activist
Known for	Getting rid of items from European museums which he thinks were stolen from native people

Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza is a Congolese pan-African political activist. He wants to get rid of items in European museums which he says were stolen from the original people of Africa when people from Europe colonised them.

Personal life

Diyabanza was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but fled to France as a political refugee. In 2020, he was 41 years old. He splits his time between France and Togo.

Diyabanza says his family were royalty on his mother's side, since the 15th century, and that his grandfather, governor of Mpangu province in the Kingdom of Kongo, was in charge when the king was not around. He says that when his grandfather was leader, Europeans came and stole artefacts, including a hat made from the skins of different animals, a cane, a copper bracelet, and a leopard skin worn in rituals.

Political activism

Diyabanza is the head of a pan-Africanist movement called Yanka Nku (Unité Dignité Courage, or Unity, Dignity and Courage). He also founded the Front Multiculturel Anti-Spoliation (FMAS, or the Multicultural Front Against Pillaging), which tries to give native people items back from European museums. He also campaigns against the use of the CFA franc currency in West and Central Africa.