Confronting the Kitawala

In 1960, Pontien Mukanga, a slightly built, mild-tempered brother, was appointed as the first circuit overseer in Congo. After receiving training in Congo (Brazzaville), he visited the congregations in Léopoldville and a few isolated groups nearby. However, a far more difficult assignment lay ahead: confronting the Kitawala.

One of the first trips Brother Mukanga made was to Kisangani (then called Stanleyville), more than a thousand miles [1,600 km] from the capital. Why there? A European whom Brother Heuse met in field service showed him a photograph that had been taken in Stanleyville just after independence. The photograph showed a large sign in front of the railway station, with a picture of an open Bible and the following inscription: “Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society​—International Bible Students Association—​Kitawala Religion Congolese​—Long Live Patrice E. Lumumba—​Long Life to Antoine Gizenga​—Long Life to M.N.C. Government.” Obviously, the Kitawala in Kisangani was misusing the names of the legal corporations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Were there genuine Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kisangani? Brother Mukanga was sent to find out. The only information the branch had was concerning a man named Samuel Tshikaka, who had heard of the truth in Bumba and returned to Kisangani in 1957. Samuel was not associated with any of the Kitawala groups and was eager to assist Brother Mukanga, who later wrote: “I went with Samuel to investigate the people using the name Watch Tower. We went to visit their pastor, who told us about his group. We learned that although some of them used Bibles, all of them believed in the immortality of the soul. They were teaching love by exchanging wives.

“Shortly after my arrival, police attempted to arrest the Kitawala in the city. The Kitawala fought back. The police called in soldiers as reinforcements. Many of the Kitawala were killed. The next day a boat with dead and wounded in it came across the river. The pastor’s secretary was with them and recognized me as having visited their leader two days before. He falsely accused me of betraying them to the authorities and said that I was responsible for the deaths of those killed in the fighting. He told his Kitawala friends to make sure I didn’t get away, but I managed to escape before they could kill me.”

When the newspapers in Belgium reported this incident, they entitled the article “Fight Between Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Police.” However, Congolese authorities​—who knew the difference between the Kitawala and Jehovah’s Witnesses—​gave an accurate report. Not one newspaper in Congo accused the Witnesses of being involved in this incident!

What became of Samuel Tshikaka? He is still in the truth and serves as an elder in the Kisangani Tshopo-Est Congregation. Presently, there are 1,536 publishers organized into 22 congregations in Kisangani. Samuel’s son, Lotomo, serves as a circuit overseer, just as Pontien Mukanga did some 40 years ago.

A Circuit Overseer Who Set Things Straight

François Danda was another circuit overseer who worked to establish the difference between the Witnesses and the Kitawala. He explains: “It was a difficult time, and there was much confusion. The Kitawala always posted a sign with the words ‘Watch Tower’ in English at their meeting places. In all our publications, no matter what language, you could find ‘Watch Tower’ on the publishers’ page. Now, imagine that someone had read our publications and was searching for God’s people. He might find a meeting place with a sign ‘Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ in the local language and another with a sign ‘Watch Tower’ in English. Where would he be inclined to go? You can see how confusing it was.

“Many brothers did not have accurate knowledge, and there were few publications available. Congregations often mixed the truth with the Kitawala teachings, especially concerning the sanctity of marriage. In one city that I visited, it was thought that 1 Peter 2:17, which says to ‘have love for the whole association of brothers,’ meant that sisters were available to any brother in the congregation. If a sister became pregnant by a brother other than her husband, the husband accepted the child as his own. As in the first century, ‘the untaught and unsteady’ were twisting the Scriptures.​—2 Pet. 3:16.

“I gave very direct Scriptural talks on Jehovah’s standards, including those on marriage. I said that there were some things that we had to straighten out patiently, little by little, but wife-swapping was not one of them. Happily, the brothers understood and accepted the correct Scriptural viewpoint. Even some of the Kitawala in that city embraced the truth.”

The efforts of Brothers Mukanga and Danda and many like them made it clear to people that Jehovah’s Witnesses were different from the Kitawala.

Throughout the country, courageous circuit overseers and pioneers did much to strengthen and train the brothers. About that time, circuit overseers and special pioneers trained in Zambia even entered Katanga and southern Kasai, regions that had been embroiled in civil war.

[Box/Picture on page 191-193]

An Interview With Pontien Mukanga

Born: 1929

Baptized: 1955

Profile: Served as the first circuit overseer in Congo.

In 1955, I went to the hospital because of a toothache. The dentist, Albert Luyinu, treated me and then showed me Revelation 21:3, 4, which speaks of the time when there will be no more pain. I left my address, and Albert visited me that evening. I made rapid spiritual progress and was baptized that same year.

I was appointed circuit overseer for the entire Congo in 1960. The circuit work was not easy. I traveled for days, even weeks, in the back of heavily loaded trucks over terrible roads and under the blazing sun. Mosquitoes tormented me at night. Often, a truck broke down, and I had to wait until it was repaired. I walked alone on unmarked paths and sometimes lost my way.

Once, I visited a town in the north of Congo. I was with Leon Anzapa. We traveled together by bicycle toward another town more than 75 miles [120 km] away. We lost our way and had to sleep one night in a closed-in chicken coop. Bugs from the chickens were biting us, so the owner of the place started a little fire in the middle of the floor, although there weren’t any windows.

That night a fight broke out between the owner’s son and the other villagers. Soon the owner was fighting too. We knew that if he lost, we would be in trouble. We did not sleep at all that night because of the bugs, the smoke, and the fighting.

Before dawn, we sneaked away on our bicycles, but after a few miles, we lost our way again. We kept on all day long, following an abandoned road. Toward the end of the day, famished and exhausted, Leon tumbled from his bicycle. He smashed his face against a rock, gashing his upper lip. He was bleeding badly, but we kept on until we reached a village. Upon seeing Leon, the villagers wanted to know who had wounded him. We explained that he had fallen from his bicycle. They refused to accept the explanation and accused me of wounding him. We did not sleep that night either; Leon was suffering with pain, and the villagers spoke of wounding me as punishment. The next morning we continued on until we finally arrived at a village where there was some medicine. They poured Mercurochrome on Leon’s lip and closed the gash with six clamps. We then traveled another 50 miles [80 km] to Gemena, where I finally left Leon for treatment at a little hospital. I continued alone to rejoin my wife, after which we worked our way downriver to Kinshasa.

Pontien’s wife Marie often went along on these trips. She died in 1963. In 1966, he remarried and continued in the circuit work until 1969. He is still in full-time service, as a regular pioneer.

[Box/Picture on page 195, 196]

An Interview With François Danda

Born: 1935

Baptized: 1959

Profile: A traveling overseer from 1963 until 1986. Served at Congo Bethel from 1986 to 1996. Now an elder and a special pioneer.

In 1974, I was visiting a congregation in Kenge, Bandundu Province, when militants of the ruling party arrested seven of us. The main charge brought against us was that we refused to share in political ceremonies honoring the head of state. They put us into a cell that had no windows and measured seven feet by seven feet [2 m by 2 m]. None of us could sit or lie down; we could only lean against one another. Allowed out only twice each day, we were in that cell for 45 days. When my wife, Henriette, heard what had happened, she traveled the 180 miles [290 km] from Kinshasa to see me. However, they allowed her to see me only once a week.

One day the state prosecutor came to visit the prison. A political ceremony was held in his honor. Everybody except us sang political songs and repeated party slogans. The prosecutor was furious and commanded me to order the six other brothers to sing. I replied that I had no authority over them and that whether to sing or not was their decision. For this I was beaten.

Later, we were loaded into the back of a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Two soldiers went along to guard us, and the same prosecutor rode in the cab with the driver. We were heading for the city of Bandundu, the capital of the province of the same name. The vehicle was moving very fast. I told the brothers to hold on tight, and then I began to pray. Just as I was finishing my prayer, the vehicle took a curve too fast and rolled over. It was amazing that no one was killed or even injured. We felt that Jehovah had protected us. When we got the vehicle back on its wheels, the prosecutor ordered the two soldiers to take us back to the prison on foot. The vehicle continued on to Bandundu.

When we got back to the prison, the soldiers told the authorities there what had happened and pleaded with them to let us go free. The prison director was extremely impressed, believing as we did that God had protected us. We spent the next few days in a regular cell and were allowed to mingle in the courtyard with the other prisoners. Then we were released.

After having served 24 years in the circuit work, François and Henriette were invited to Bethel. Ten years later they transferred to the special pioneer work. Henriette passed away on August 16, 1998.