| Intro | Congolese minister |
| Is | Minister |
| From | Republic of the Congo |
| Type | Religion |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
1 January 1909 |
Simon-Pierre Mpadi (1909–1950s) was a follower of Simon Kimbangu who later established his own Messianic Christian-inspired Religious group in Congo.
Mpadi was originally part of the Salvation Army. In 1936 he became a follower of Simon Kimbangu, and his Church of Jesus Christ on Earth. In 1939 he formed a group called Mission des Noirs within Kimbangu’s movement, this group was later known as the Khakista because of the khaki uniform they wore. Mpadi used his first name to claim a connection to Kimbangu similar to that of Simon Peter to Jesus Christ.
On 7 September 1939, in a declaration and written statement submitted to the local Belgian colonial administrator at Madimba (~ 90 km from Belgian Congo capital Leopoldville) his group (himself and hundreds of followers) sent a message to the colonial masters that their days in the territory they occupied were numbered, and that time for liberation and autochthons to cater for themselves had come. He was then arrested and imprisoned. In the mid-1940s Mpadi fled to the French Congo but was sent back to Belgian territories by the officials there.
While his numerous followers were sent to prisons for hard labour in Equateur (Befale, Ekafela, etc.) and some were conscripted to fight in World War II beside Belgian troops, Mpadi was later sent to serve his sentence at the Central Prison of the then Elizabethville, known today as Lubumbashi of the Katanga province of the DRC. Mpadi and his followers, along with all Kimbangu’s imprisoned followers (e.g. Emmanuel Bamba), were set free by an official decree around the DRC national independence day.
In 1960, returning where he started he re-established his messianic movement across the south-western part of the DRC, the northern region of Angola and part of Congo-Brazzaville. Mpadi argued that his movement could not be on a mission in their own land, but a church. The movement came to later be known as “Eglise des Noirs Afrique” {which translates Church of Back (people) in Africa}, with headquarter at Ntendesi, later Songa-Ntela – a locality in the territory of Kasangulu, DRC.
Mpadi’s sermons and religious message emphasized on the messianic and prophetic leadership of Simon Kimbangu as the liberator of all Black (people) in the world. From the mid-70s, though still monotheist he oriented his movement towards more traditional beliefs and history of past African prophets and warriors, no longer referring to Christianity and the bible. He claimed the new approach not to be in contradiction with Kimbangu, but the true philosophy of Kimbangu initiated in year 1921. In the 21st Century, his 1939 founded movement and church is still survived by few hundreds followers.