Vital Kamerhe

Vital Kamerhe (born 1959) is a Congolese politician and leader of the Union for the Congolese Nation (Union pour la Nation Congolaise), an opposition political party. Former Speaker of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and former Minister of Information, founder and leader of the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) and former candidate to the 2011 presidential election in the DRC.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in Bukavu, Sud-Kivu, on March 4, 1959, Vital Kamerhe Lwa Kanyiginyi Nkingi is the son of Constantin Kamerhe Kanyginyi and Alphonsine Mwa Nkingi. Originally from the Shi community of the Walungu territory, he is married and father of 9 children.

He began his primary school in Bukavu and then in Goma. He then continued in the Kasai-Oriental, in Gandajika, where he finishes his primary school. School years 1975-1976 and 1976–1977, he attended the Institut Sadisana (former College St. Francois-Xavier) in Kikwit Sacré-Coeur,Bandundu province. He then moved to Kananga (Kasai-Occidental Province) and finally, after one year, to Mbuji-Mayi where he obtained his State degree in 1980 (Institut Mulemba). This experience led him to learn all four national languages of Congo namely Kikongo, Lingala, Kiswahili and Tshiluba. He also speaks fluent French.