Claim: Viral fan at AFCON 2025 who stands throughout games fell after DRC’s loss
Source: Social media (X, Facebook)
Verdict: False
Researched by Alfa Shaban
Shortly after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lost its quarter-final fixture against Algeria to a 119th-minute goal, viral posts on social media claimed a popular Congolese fan at the 2025 AFCON tournament had fallen.
Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, on January 6, 2026, like all DRC games, stands with a specific upright pose throughout, with his signature pose depicting the statue of the Congo’s assassinated independence hero, Patrice Lumumba.
Nicknamed “Lumumba Vea” due to his striking resemblance to the original Lumumba, he is always sharply dressed in the colours of the DRC and has become the subject of multiple media reports (here, here, here). He recently met with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe.
“I stay still to give strength to the team, to pass energy on to the players,” Nkuka Mboladinga told the Associated Press (AP) in an interview in Casablanca.
GhanaFact’s attention to the claim was triggered by a viral post that Mboladinga had fallen off his stand after Algeria’s goal in extra time ended the DRC’s run at the tournament. The post, shared by an African football journalist, Micky Jnr, showed Mboladinga falling on his back on top of a section of the crowd, which has been viewed over 2 million times on X with 429 comments, 4,200 reposts and 38,000 likes.
The accompanying caption to the post read: “Iconic moment. 😅 The DR Congo fan who’s been standing through every minute of the match just fell the moment Algeria scored in the 119th. Pure heartbreak and drama in one instant! 💔”
The image has since been shared across social media platforms (here, here, here, here) with some stating that he had actually collapsed. This fact-check will ascertain whether Mboladinga fell or collapsed.
Fact-check
GhanaFact traced the particular image using the Reverse Image Search function to an image that was published earlier during the game.
It showed Mboladinga dressed in a white shirt with a sky-blue tie, a matching jacket, and red trousers, standing on his usual podium watching the game.
GhanaFact’s visual analysis revealed the following:
- The viral image was a zoomed-in version of the original.
- All features in the original are the same as the viral one, except for the fallen Lumumba.
- The stadium signage (in both images) is showing the Starting XI, which is usually projected only at the beginning and not the end of the game.
In addition, no credible media organisations had reported the said incident, which is unusual for a figure who has been one of the most covered off-field subjects of the tournament, currently ongoing in Morocco.
Videos of a distraught Mboladinga
While the picture continued to be widely shared, videos of ‘Lumumba’s disappointment at the DRC’s loss were also widely circulated. One such video captured him expressing disappointment while still standing, slowly lowering his hand and appearing to wipe tears.
Another video captured him climbing down from his podium after the game while purportedly wiping off tears. At no point is he seen having fallen or, in the case of one TikTok video (AI-generated), being carried away by wardens.
Verdict
The claim that the DRC’s Lumumba statue fan fell or collapsed during the quarter-final against Algeria is False.
Grok amplifies The Guardian UK’s misreportage
Under another viral post that triggered this report, a user asked Grok, the xAI platform, about the veracity of the post. Grok replied that the falling had indeed happened, referencing a report by the UK Guardian portal.
“It’s real! According to The Guardian and other sources, this Congolese fan (Michel Nkuka Mboladinga) remained motionless throughout the entire match in homage to Lumumba, but collapsed after the Algerian goal in extra time at the CAN 2025. No AI, just pure emotion.”
We ran a check on The Guardian’s website and found the exact detail the AI was referring to. In its final update on the live page for the DRC vs. Algeria fixture, The Guardian journalist alleged that Mboladinga “fell the moment Algeria scored their winner.”
“The DR Congo fan who has been standing during every minute of their Afcon games in tribute to the country’s first-ever prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, fell the moment Algeria scored their winner. The late drama ended his fun,” The Guardian reported.
