Matungulu, Givule Floribert

Floribert Matungulu Givule was born in 1945 in the Katembo Kikhomba area north of Mungindu, in the Kwilu district, formerly Bandundu province. His father Kulutu-A-Giwangwa was a farmer in the village of Kibo, a village with a Protestant religious population. His mother’s name was A Gukumina-A-Nzovu. Matungulu was the youngest of her five children. Matungulu lost his mother when he was five years old. He was raised by his aunt Kotshi-A-Giwangwa, the younger sister of Kulutu-A-Giwangwa.

Matungulu received his primary education at the Protestant school of the American Mennonite Brethren Mission (AMBM), now the CEFMC school in Kibo. He was advised to continue the rest of the classes from third to seventh grade at the AMBM mission in Kafumba.

Matungulu made the decision to accept Jesus Christ in Kafumba, following the preaching of Rev. Ndjimbo Timothée on the passages of Haggai 1:13 (“I am with you, says the Lord”) and Jeremiah 42:11 (“for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand”). He was baptized in the Kwilu River in Kafumba, on December 12, 1958, by Rev. Ndjimbo Timothée.

Matungulu was a docile, but also courageous child. During his childhood, the Mulelist rebellion broke out in the Kwilu region (1963-1965). One day, Matungulu went fishing in the Kwilu River. Suddenly, he heard bombs exploding and fled. Although he could not swim, he was given a spirit of courage. He decided to cross the Kwilu River, and God helped him reach the other side. When he arrived at the village of Katembo Kikhomba, he found the inhabitants fleeing the rebellion. Matungulu’s father took the family to hide in the forest. As they left, they encountered the rebels, but by God’s grace the rebels spared them and showed them another way. They were then able to hide in the deep forest.

After the rebellion, Matungulu continued his secondary education in the AMBM school, now Mbandu, in Kikwit where he obtained his state diploma in 1970. He got married in a religious ceremony in Kikwit on August 22, 1976, to Alphonsine Munganga, now a pastor of the CEFMC. The two spouses were always very attached to each other. The couple had four sons: Guy Matungulu, Muller Matungulu, Julie Matungulu and Joël Matungulu. In 1972, Matungulu was assigned as a teacher at the CEFMC Bumbu elementary school in Kinshasa. He was the pioneer of the Léopard primary school in Camp Luka (now Londzo) in the Commune of Ngaliema in Kinshasa.

In 1982, Matungulu understood the importance of doing higher studies at the Institut supérieur théologique de Kinshasa (ISTK), now the Université chrétienne de Kinshasa (UCKin). He did a preparatory year at the Faculty of Protestant Theology. In 1984, he obtained an undergraduate degree in theology from the ISTK. At the end of his undergraduate studies at ISTK, he returned to Kikwit, where he was assigned as chaplain to the Mbandu Institute. In 1985, he returned to Kinshasa for graduate studies at the Faculté de théologie protestante du Zaïre, now the Université protestante du Congo (UPC). During this time, he taught at the Centre universitaire de missiologie (CUM). In 1986, he obtained his Licence in Protestant Theology and became an associate professor of higher education at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of Zaire. He was ordained to the pastoral ministry on November 28, 1988.

Matungulu had other ambitions in his ministry. In 1992 he went to study at Rhodes University in Graham Town, South Africa, and in 1994 he received a master’s degree. He then taught at Wesley International Bible College in Nigeria for two years. Returning to Kinshasa in 1996, Matungulu began his doctorate at UPC. In 2003, Matungulu reached the pinnacle of his studies by obtaining his doctorate in theology.

Rev. Dr. Matungulu taught at the Faculty of Evangelical Theology at UCKin from 2004 until his death, and was dean of the faculty until 2018. He was also a visiting professor at the l’École internationale d’évangélisation (International School of Evangelism), now the Centre universitaire de missiologie (CUM). From 2016 to 2019, Matungulu was in put in charge of scientific research in Bandundu by the then Minister of Higher Education and Universities of the DRC, Théophile Mbemba. He exercised this responsibility mainly in the city of Kikwit. In 2005, he was secretary of the Partnership Council of the Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM) in Congo, a partnership body between Mennonite churches in the DRC and those in North America and Europe. He was also pastor in charge of the Paroisse Missionnaire de Kintambo (a parish of the CEFMC) in Kinshasa from 1987 until his death. Matungulu died in July 2019 after a short illness.

Matungulu is remembered for his Mennonite spirit. Calm and gentle, he was a peacemaker, a unifier and a comforter in his community. He played a key role in some family reconciliations, such as promoting peace between Kikweta Mawa Wabala and his siblings. He loved his community, encouraged responsible partnership with the mother churches, and was the bearer of solutions that respected Mennonite doctrine. He contributed to the re-establishment of community structures on new foundations, especially by helping with the redrafting of the community’s legal texts. During a conflict in 2004 within the executive committee of the CEFMC between the outgoing legal representative (Rev. Ndunda Gilbert) and the newly elected legal representative (Rev. Pelende Tshinyam), he served as an advisor to Rev. Ndunda in favor of the unity of the community. Finally, he left a legacy of many writings and trained leaders at all levels.

Malebe Mubwayele Abdon

Sources :

Pasteur Pela Iswala Damas, younger brother of Matungulu. Response to questionnaire, December 27, 2021. Pasteur Alphonsine Munganga, Matungulu’s wife. Interview by Abdon Malebe Mubwayele on September 29, 2021 in Kinshasa. Pastor Ndunda Gilbert, legal representative of the CEFMC from 1998 to 2004. Response to questionnaire, December 29, 2021.

Works by Rev. Dr. Matungulu Givule Floribert : « La mission chrétienne et l’islam en RDC : problème des méthodes pour une cohabitation pacifique ». Revue du centre de recherche scientifique interdisciplinaire et de publication (2016) : p. 120. Éditions de l’Université chrétienne de Kinshasa (UCKin).

« L’accès des femmes aux responsabilités religieuses ». Revue du centre de recherche scientifique interdisciplinaire et de publication (2016) : p. 53–64. Éditions de l’Université chrétienne de Kinshasa (UCKin).

Un pasteur modèle : sa vie et son ministère. Kinshasa : Éditions Mukanda, 2014.

« Apport de la femme chrétienne au développement de la nation congolaise ». Actes des journées scientifiques organisées le 21 mai 2010 par la Faculté de théologie évangélique de l’UCKin.

« Mission paternalism factor in self-reliance of Congo Mennonite Brethren Church ». Mission Focus: Annual Review 16 (2008): 11–28. Https://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15705coll31/id/284/rec/1

« Rites funéraires pende: Essai de théologie de mission ». Thèse de doctorat, Université protestante du Congo, 2003.

This article, received in 2022, is the fruit of research by Malebe Mubwayele Abdon. He holds a DEA (Diplôme d’études approfondies) in Evangelical Theology, and is a lecturer at the Faculty of Evangelical Theology of the Université chrétienne de Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.