Papa Wemba’s home transformed into museum

The Kinshasa home of Congolese rumba legend Papa Wemba has been officially opened as a museum on the sixth anniversary of his death. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Culture Minister Catherine Kathungu said that people could come and listen to the music and see the photos and videos of the Congolese star as they toured the property.

The house—which is now owned by the government—will also host exhibitions and conferences, she added, according to a tweet from her ministry. In 2016, Papa Wemba died at the age of 66 after collapsing during a concert in Ivory Coast. Video from the performance showed him slumping on stage behind a group of dancers, before they rushed to his aid.

Born in 1949, Wemba, whose real name was Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, began his singing career in religious choirs. He helped modernise Congolese rumba music, with the genre that emerged—soukous— influencing music across Africa. Last year, the UN’s cultural organisation put rumba on its list of items of intangible cultural heritage—BBC