LIGHTS OFF FOR MARIE HELENE MBONGA MAKIESE

March 16, 2026 - 08:00 AM

Mama Marie Hélène Mbonga Makiese will be buried on March 21, 2026, at Gombe Cemetery in Kinshasa. Marie Mbonga, who was the eldest daughter of Congolese musical superstar Franco Luambo Makiadi, died on March 8 while receiving treatment at a hospital in Kinshasa, according to her son, musician Rudy Luambo Makiadi. Born in 1957 and named after her paternal grandmother, Marie Hélène was the eldest of Franco’s sixteen children, one boy, Yves Luambo Emongo, and fifteen girls. The late Marie Hélène was married to musician Youlou Mabiala, who sang with Franco for many years.

Her father, Franco, one of the most influential African musicians, died in 1989 and was buried at the same Gombe Cemetery. His band TP OK Jazz was one of the largest in terms of personnel and produced a vast discography of around 3,000 songs, according to an estimate by his longtime saxophonist Isaac Musekiwa. According to a programme released by Rudy Luambo, a vigil will be held on Friday, March 20, 2026, beginning at 6:00 p.m. and continuing until dawn at Franco’s club, the Un-Deux-Trois building, located along Gambela Avenue in Kasa-Vubu, near the Stade des Martyrs. On Saturday, March 21, 2026, the body will be removed from the morgue of the Cinquantenaire Hospital at 9:30 a.m. and taken to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Congo, where it is expected to arrive at 11:00 a.m. A requiem mass will begin at 12:00 noon, after which the funeral procession will proceed to Gombe Cemetery for burial at 2:00 p.m. Thereafter, friends and family will again gather at Un, Deux, Trois.

Meanwhile, Jabulani Radio dedicated yesterday’s edition of the Rumba Fiesta programme to the memory of Marie Hélène. The special broadcast will be repeated on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.