Pierre Kompany left the military camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he was imprisoned on the orders of Mobutu Sese Seko, the country’s ruthless dictator in 1975 as a refugee. Today, he is a Belgian politician overseeing the Brussels suburb of Ganshoren, the first black person to record such feat.
Even though he was born in a country, which is yet to reconcile her colonial past, Kompany was elected as Belgium’s first ever black mayor in 2018. He has been a member of Brussels’ regional parliament since 2014.
He is the proud father of Belgian professional footballer and manager and one of the best defenders in the world, Vincent Kompany, who plays as a centre back and acts as a player-manager for R.S.C. Anderlecht. As the former captain of Manchester city, Vincent led his club to win the Premier League during the 2011–12 season, their first league title in 44 years.