For the first time, the Federal Government pays tribute to Congolese soldiers on 11 November

This year, for the first time, the Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities, Marie-Colline Leroy, will officially participate on behalf of the Federal Government in the commemoration of the Battle of Tabora (Saturday at 14:00) at the only Belgian monument to Congolese soldiers, the François Rigasquare in Schaerbeek. With this gesture, the Federal Government also wishes to commemorate and honour the Congolese soldiers who fought in the Great War.  

Although Europe was the main battleground during the First World War, battles were also fought on other continents. During the Great War, Belgium mobilised some 300,000 men through the Congolese government forces on the "German East African" front. Recent research estimates the number of casualties at 29,000 (145 European officers, 1,895 Congolese soldiers, 7,124 statutory military transporters and at least 20,000 auxiliary transporters, not counting the women who accompanied the troops). During the Second World War, some 30,000 Congolese soldiers took part in the fighting, mainly in Asia and Africa.

One of the most important battles of the First World War on the African front was the Battle of Tabora. Congolese troops fought against troops from the German colonies. The Congolese forces captured Tabora, the war capital of "German East Africa" (now Tanzania), in September 1916, securing a highly strategic victory for the Allies.

Every year on 11 November, Bakushinta, an association dedicated to the promotion and valorisation of Congolese culture, organises a commemoration of the Battle of Tabora in collaboration with other associations of the Congolese community. It will take place on Saturday at 14:00 in front of the memorial in honour of the troupes of the African campaigns, on François Rigasquare in Schaerbeek. The monument pays tribute to the armed forces of the independent state of the Congo and later of the Belgian Congo. Marie-Colline Leroy, Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities, will attend the ceremony on behalf of the government and lay a wreath.

Secretary of State Leroy: "This year, for the first time, the federal government will be present at the commemoration of the Battle of Tabora on 11 November. This is the government's way of commemorating and honouring the important role played by Congolese soldiers during World War I. It is also a sign of recognition of the hard work done within the Special Commission on the Colonial Past who, among other things, talked about a federal presence at this moment of remembrance."