Muhune, Sangwa Kitule Simon (1926–2008)

Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune was one of the first Congolese to be employed by the Church. He was an educator and administrator.

Early Life

Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune was born in Bugana Kilonda (Buyombo), territory of Kongolo, district of Tanganyika, province of Katanga, in 1926. His father, Muhune Kitule, a notable warrior in Bugona Kilonda village, was a polygamist and a reckless warrior who feared nobody. Sangwa Kitule Muhune’s siblings included Allumeti Nyembo, Kitule Muhune, Sangwa Muhune, Samson Muhune, Kayumba Muhune, Ezechiel Muyumba, Muhune Gabriel, Lumande Ilunda Muhune, Fataki Muyubi, and Muhune.¹

Study and Marriage

Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune started school in 1933 and completed primary 6 at Bigobo Mission School in 1940, after which the Seventh-day Adventist Church sent him as a teacher to Maniema province. In 1946 he married Mazuya Feza Celine, one of the daughters of the chief of Bigobo who welcomed the Seventh-day Adventists and gave them land for the mission. From this union came 11 children. Three have since died. The eight still living are: Mugalu Muhune Elisabeth, Mwenza Muhune Julienne, Kilonda Muhune Michel, Mwange Muhunev Josephine, Muzinga Muhune Henriette, Nyembo Muhune Joseph, Sangwa Muhune Robert (East Congo Union President, 2011-present), Mugo Muhune Marie, and Muhune.²

Ministry

Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune served the church in the following positions: teacher/evangelist, Maniema Bigobo (1942-1946); assistant school director at Bigobo Primary School (1947-1949); Lulengele seminarist (1949-1951); Bigobo School headmaster (1952-1955); Songa School teacher (1956-1960); leadership training course at Solusi (1960-1961); Bigobo Station director³ (1962-1970); South Congo Field vice president in Likasi (1971-1972); South Congo Field president in Kamina (1973-1980); union stewardship director (1980-1983); Kasai project director (1984-1988); Central Kasai Field President (1989-1991). He retired in 1991 and he rested in the Lord in Lubumbashi in 2008.⁴

Contribution

Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune was one of the first Congolese to be employed by the Church, and there were many challenges at that time. As a leader, he encouraged new workers to trust the Lord and move on. Even when he was 80 years old, he attended evangelistic meetings. The author remembers that he organized an evangelistic crusade in 1996 in Bugana Kilonda village and, even though Pastor Simon Muhune was there to attend a funeral, he attended all the evening meetings and greatly encouraged the speaker. Most people remember him as a brave man who saved the Bigobo Mission from the rebels when he was vice-president for Bigobo Station. In those days, rebels were burning all the buildings on their way from Mbulula to Lengwe. When they reached the Bigobo Mission, all members had fled. Only Cosan Kaluhala, a retired worker, and Simon Muhune stood before the group of rebels and managed to save all the mission buildings.⁵

Notes

1. Robert Muhune, personal interview with the author, Lubumbashi, October 10, 2019. Robert Muhune is a son of Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Minutes of the Congo Union Committee which was held at Ndola, February 26, 1962. Action no. 866: voted to appoint Simon Muhune as Vice-President of the South Congo Field for Bigobo Station in view of the death of Jonathan Kiambe, 251.↩

4. Sangwa Kitule Simon Muhune, Service Record, East Congo Union Mission Office, 2019.↩

5. Robert Pierson, And So, You Want to Be a Leader? (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association), 16,

   Sources

   Minutes of the Congo Union Committee. East Congo Union Mission records, Lumbubashi, Ngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

   Muhune, Sangwa Kitule Simon. Service Record, East Congo Union Mission Office, 2019. Lumbubashi, Ngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

   Pierson, Robert. And So, You Want to Be a Leader? Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1966.↩