Belgian king honors last surviving Congolese World War II veteran

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - King Philippe of Belgium decorated the last surviving Congolese World War II veteran on Wednesday, according to an official from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde arrived in the capital Kinshasa for a six-day historic visit on Tuesday.

At a ceremony, Philippe decorated retired Cpl. Albert Kunyuku with the Order of the Crown, one of the highest honors in the Kingdom of Belgium, Communication and Media Minister Patrick Muyaya said on Twitter.

Kunyuku, now a full century old, was reportedly conscripted at the age of 18 in Belgium's colonial Force Publique in 1940.

He served in Burma, now Myanmar, alongside American, British, and Russian allies against the Axis.

Philippe and Mathilde also participated in another ceremony in Kinshasa to honor veterans of the Congolese independence war and laid a wreath at a memorial for combat veterans.

The live streamed ceremony was attended by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, several other officials, and about a dozen frail but smiling veterans, local media reported.

The King and Queen's trip will include visits to the cities of southeastern Lubumbashi and eastern Bukavu, the capital of the province of South Kivu.

In Kinshasa, the couple on Wednesday visited the National Museum, with the king scheduled to address the country's National Assembly.

The Central African nation acquired independence from Belgium in 1960.

King Leopold II, brother to Philippe's great-great-grandfather, oversaw the country's occupation between 1885 and 1908 before it was declared a Belgian colony.

Its colonization as the Belgian Congo has been described by historians as one of the harshest European rules in Africa in the late 19th and 20th centuries -- for which Philippe in 2020 wrote a letter to Congolese President Tshisekedi expressing his "deepest regrets" for the "wounds of the past."

On Wednesday, the DRC and Belgium signed a memorandum of understanding to support Congolese young people in the reconstitution, promotion, and conservation of Congolese cultural heritage, said Muyaya.

At the ceremony, Philippe gave Tshisekedi a 70-year-old suku mask as a symbolic gift, Muyaya said, adding that the return of Congolese works of art and culture was central to his visit.