In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pierre Yantula Elengesa died on Saturday, June 29, at the age of 83. Known as ” Little Peter “, he was the last survivor of African Jazz, the orchestra of Joseph Kabalele alias ” Great Kalle », author of “Indépendance Cha Cha”, which became the anthem of African independence.
The legendary piece was born on the occasion of the Brussels round table in January 1960 to prepare for the independence of what was, at the time, the Belgian Congo. Little Peter » was a percussionist in African Jazz.
Contacted by RFI, Dieudonné Ya Ngomba, journalist and music columnist on Congolese national television (RNTC), testifies: “Little Pierre“I knew him because he lived in my neighborhood, in the commune of Saint-Jean, today Lingwala. He was also, for me, a father because he saw me born and grow up.”Little Peter” was supposed to be our permanent guest on the musical variety show on Sunday, June 30th starting at 12 noon. We were expecting him that day, but unfortunately, we were told of his death on June 29th. That day, he was surprised by death, from a heart attack. »
“It was a great sadness for me, because it is a library that has just leftcontinues Dieudonné Ya Ngomba. That day, he should have told a lot of things, Sunday, on our Karibu Variété set, and that would have enlightened many, many people about African Jazz, the orchestra that was invited to the round table in Brussels, in 1959, which of course prepared the independence of the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the time.. »
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