Kasongo Ilunga

Andre Kasongo Ilunga (allegedly born 20 October 1972) was supposedly the Vice-President of the UNAFEC party and the Minister for Foreign Trade of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for much of 2007, despite doubts on whether or not he ever actually existed as a real person. Although a member of the UNAFEC party selected by Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga, he failed to appear at the opening of the new Government, and never claimed his office. As a result, Kasongo Ilunga is now considered by the local media and the international community to have been an imaginary person, most likely created by Kisimba Ngoy, leader of the UNAFEC party, as a part of a plan to win the lucrative role for himself.

Kasongo Ilunga is a common name in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and at least three people claimed to be him. The event damaged the reputation of the government, the first to be democratically elected in over 40 years, leading to the dismissal of Kisimba from the UNAFEC and the emergency election of a new party president.