Mushaga Bakenga

Mushaga Bakenga is a Norwegian professional footballer of Congolese descent who currently plays as a striker for Rosenborg BK. He was born in Trondheim in 1992. As a football player, Mushaga Bakenga has represented the Norwegian national team in a single match, and has played in international clubs in Belgium, Germany and Denmark.

When Bakenga was two years old he moved to Congo with his family because his mother worked with UNICEF in the country. However, when the war in the country escalated in 1996 the family were forced to flee from Bukavu where they lived. It proved to be a difficult task to leave Congo, but through the help of the UN they reached safety in Norway.

Bakenga has shared parts of his personal story in Norwegian media, including the attempt from the government’s armed forces to kill his famous uncle Denis Mukwege who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and the UN Human Rights prize in 2008.