Juliana Lumumba announces candidacy for OIF secretary-general, pledges reform
Juliana Lumumba, daughter of assassinated Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba and former culture minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has announced her candidacy for secretary-general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). In a campaign interview with RFI in Paris, she called for a 'Francophonie of the people' that moves beyond governments and elites to focus on youth, conflict mediation, and community engagement. Member states are set to vote in November 2026, with incumbent Louise Mushikiwabo also seeking re-election.
Juliana Lumumba, daughter of assassinated Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba and a former culture minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, announced her candidacy for secretary-general of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), calling for a "Francophonie of the people" that moves beyond governments and elites.
In a campaign interview with RFI in Paris, Lumumba said the OIF must do more for young people and conflict mediation. "I want a Francophonie of the people, a Francophonie closer to the people," she said. "A Francophonie in which not only the members, but also communities, women, men and young people talk to one another."
Member states are set to vote in November 2026. Incumbent Louise Mushikiwabo of Rwanda is running for re-election. Four candidates are competing for the post. Lumumba said she respects Mushikiwabo's work but called for rebuilding and revitalising the OIF. "We need to streamline the bureaucracy a little, to move away from bureaucracy," she said.
In March 2025, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced their decision to leave the OIF. Lumumba said she would like to see those three countries return. "It is not normal to lose members. We should be gaining them instead," she said. She expressed confidence that leaders in those countries, who she said look up to Patrice Lumumba as an icon, would listen to her.
Lumumba noted that 65 percent of French speakers are in Africa and that 60 percent of the DRC population is under 25. "What do they want? They are Generation Z, the digital generation," she said. "They want to be part of their country's development." She stressed the need to bridge the digital divide through training and technology, and to promote French through cultural and creative industries.
Lumumba met President Emmanuel Macron in Kenya at the Africa Forward summit. Asked whether France would vote for her, she said: "I don't know yet whether I have France's vote." She added: "Honestly, I am fairly optimistic at the moment."
Lumumba also addressed the DRC's latest Ebola outbreak, saying she was not worried because the country has expertise from 16 previous outbreaks. She discussed her family's decades-long search for the truth about her father's 1961 assassination, noting that a legal process in Belgium is ongoing. "The truth will set us free and we hope we will get it," she said.