Pierre Mwana Kasongo

Pierre Mwana Kasongo was a very skilled and talented footballer whose aptitude to play football was spotted in his childhood. His mother remarked that he refused to play with other toys and loved playing with his football. Growing up, he had a fierce reputation for being a very hot-tempered person and was known for engaging in fights when he was seriously provoked yet this never got in the way of his football career. Such a temper earned him nicknames that clung to him until his death such as 'Bombardier', 'Volvo' and many others such as 'Mwadia Nvita'. On one occasion, Kasongo was seen to be fighting with Bakekole Lumumba outside a dance hall.

In 1960, Kasongo played for FC St. Eloi Lupopo in Elisabethville, now known as Lubumbashi, until 1961. Before moving to Belgium he and his wife had three children and two of them moved with him and his wife to Belgium. It was also during his time in Belgium that he and his wife had their fourth and fifth child. As a talented young man; he was chosen to play in Europe and moved to Belgium in 1961 so as to strengthen the Belgian teams. Along with Kimoni and Kalamba, Kasongo managed to integrate himself into the Belgian football team RCS Verviers, also known as C.S.Verviers.  He played for RCS Verviers from 1965-66 and soon after left and joined ARA Gent, known as K.A.A Gent in July 1967, staying on until 1968.In 1968, the African Cup of Nations took place in Ethiopia and Congo played against Ghana in the final at the Addis Ababa Stadium under the reign of Haile Selassie. Leon Mungamuni scored ten minutes into extra time as Congo-Kinshasa won 3-2 to reach the final and face Ghana. Pierre Kalala Mukendi scored the game's goal in the second half which was in fact assisted by a back pass from Kasongo. It was because of this win against Ghana that Les Léopards claimed their first AFCON title.

When the champions returned to their home country, they were greeted by Mobutu and his ministers, including former Congolese Prime Minister Étienne Tshisekedi. They were fervently welcomed and were invited to take official pictures with Mobutu. They were all dressed in uniform suits and were all dressed with Mobutu's signature leopard-print hat. Further to their 1968 win in the CAF, the president Mobutu Sese Seko invited Pelé and the Brazilian team FC Santos for exhibition matches in Zaire. Mwana Kasongo was one of the players in the Congolese team who played against the famous Brazilian player and the rest of his team.

Kasongo thrived during his time in Belgium and was even offered a place in FC Milan; however his love for his country of origin brought him back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a widely-held view that the president of Zaire deceived many of the Congolese-born Belgian players into returning home, with the promise of better wages and a better life. Upon returning to the Democratic Republic of Congo, known then as Zaire, Kasongo and his wife left two of their sons in Belgium with their godparents and returned with their other two Belgian-born children. Kasongo joined DC Motema Pembe in Kinshasa, also known as FC Daring in 1968. After his professional football career, he allowed himself to return to Lubumbashi to strengthen his original team St. Eloi Lupopo against a popular team TP Mazembe.  St.Eloi was penalized and forfeited the match. After completely retiring from professional football, Mwana Kasongo took up a post in Katanga as one of the Director of Sports at SNCZ;the national railway company for the inland railways of the Congo. He remained in this role as well as part-time managing local teams until he passed away. When he passed away, he was given the title of 'Champion Manager'.

When he returned to the Congo, Kasongo and his first wife had three more children together. After a few years, his personal life took a different turn and he went on to have four more children with another woman. Kasongo's health deteriorated after some time and he became very ill towards the end of his life, remaining in Lubumbashi until the time of his death. His funeral was state-funded and among the attendees were ministers, government officials and other prominent football players in Zaire. Kasongo played with famous players such as Pele, Kalala, Kabamba, Kazadi, Kibonge, Kidumu, Mokili and Mulongo. He trained and inspired players such as Lupeta, Ndaya and Malumba. He is mostly remembered for his hot temper and his love for the ball.