Congo Evangelist and Dissident Released
A political dissident who led a prison revival is now free in his native Democratic Republic of Congo after 16 months behind bars — the past four in a military prison.
Vano Kalembe Kiboko — a United Methodist lay evangelist, businessman and former congressman in Congo — was detained on what the watchdog group Human Rights Watch called “trumped-up charges.”
That all changed May 5, when authorities released Kiboko.
For his sister — the Rev. J. Kabamba Kiboko, a member of the Texas Conference who also serves on the Judicial Council, The United Methodist Church’s top court — his 492 days in prison made her feel like both of them were in a deep pit.
“I felt trapped, but I was in prayer, and that’s where he and I were together, strong together,” she told United Methodist News Service. “I felt when he was low and I could feel it when God was comforting him. God was comforting me, too.”