A Tribute to An African Woman.

As a person who was born in Africa, I grew up with several

mothers. They are the women who raised me and to

whom I am not biologically related. Maman Brigitte is one

of them. Yesterday, I drove to Enola, Pennsylvania to pick

her up where she has been staying with her daughter.

Maman Brigitte will be visiting Hopewell for a couple of

weeks.

In the eighties, Maman Brigitte was one of the first

women from the Democratic Republic of Congo to be sent

to Israel for military training. When she came back from

her training, she climbed the ranks and became an officer

in the army. She thrived and was well respected and

known in the country.

Her military career, however, came to an end when she

was accused of siding with a group of officers to

overthrow the Mobutu regime in the Congo. The country

was back then called Zaire. She was the only woman

sentenced to death for the so-called “attempted coup.”

she stayed on death row for several years.

The first time I saw Maman Brigitte was on National TV

during her trial. I remembered how she was calm when

she was stripped of her military ranks right in front of

the camera for everyone to see. The government was sending

a message that no one was allowed to criticize the

president. Being the only woman to be tried and

sentenced to death, she received pouring support in the

country and all over the world. People were praying for

her. There was international pressure to release her, but

the Mobutu government didn’t budge at the time.

Her release was nothing but a miracle. One of my

pastors went to visit her in prison. As they prayed, he was

convinced that God had a different plan for maman

Brigitte. Shortly after, it didn’t take long for her to be

released. Prior to her jailing, she wasn’t as committed to

her faith. She understood her release as a call to serve

God. It was then she attended my church where I met her,

and I was keen to talk to her. She took me under her

wings. She helped me with tuition at school, fed me, and

buy me clothes. I have tears of thanksgiving as I recalled

those moments in my life.

I remembered Maman Brigitte had a Bible that she

brought from Israel. On the front cover, it had water from

the Jordan River, and on the back, soil from the Holy Land.

This Bible was fascinating to me. I couldn’t stop holding it

whenever I visited her. With it, I could visualize the water

that Jesus was baptized from and the land where he

actually walked. This Bible was a spiritual relic for me. It

drew me closer to my spiritual quest.

I asked Maman Brigitte about this Bible yesterday. She

gave it to one of her sons who is not as committed to his

faith. She prays and hopes that he could find his bearings.

Maman Brigitte is writing a book about her faith journey as

a military officer and how she found God when she

received the death sentence and was later set free by the Grace

of God from prison.

Today Maman Brigitte lives by her faith and can’t stop

thanking God in her life. I give God thanks for her. She is an

amazing woman of faith. Please extend a warm welcome

to her as she visits our community.