On August 5, 2015, the Congo lost one of his great photographers by the name of Kiripi Katembo Siku who was only 36 years old. Congo Live paid this acclaimed painter, photograher and film producer a tribute to commemorate his work in the arts including his brilliant legacy as a Congolese leader among an emerging youth movement.

Bio (edited from Wiki)

Kiripi Katembo, also known as Kiripi Katembo Siku was a Congolese photographer, documentary filmmaker and painter. Katembo’s short films, photography and other projects focused on the daily lives of the people of Kinshasa, as well as the economic and social challenges facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was also a founding director of Mutotu Productions, his film production company, and the executive director of Yango Biennale, based in Kinshasa.

Katembo was born on June 20, 1979, in Goma, Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo). He attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Kinshasa.

Katembo’s work has been featured at Bamako Encounters, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, and the TAZ in Ostend, Belgium. Photos from Un regard collection were on display as part of the “Beauté Congo – 1926-2015 – Congo Kitoko” exhibition at the Foundation Cartier in Paris at the time of his death in 2015.

Katembo filmed his 2008 seven-minute, digital short film, Cardboard Car Film, which explores Kinshasa and its people, on a mobile phone. Katembo had also worked in feature films. He was assistant director on the 2010 Congolese crime thriller, Viva Riva! Katembo was also an assistant director the Canadian drama, War Witch (2012), a film that received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film category at the 85th Academy Awards (Oscars).

Kiripi Katembo died from cerebral malaria in Kinshasa on August 5, 2015, at the age of 36.