Matilde Ngono

Congolese abolitionist and community organizer who led anti-slavery networks in the Lower Congo region

Matilde Ngono (1835-1901) was a Congolese anti-slavery activist whose clandestine networks freed hundreds from the Congo Free State labor camps. Operating along the Congo River between 1860-1890, she coordinated a network of informants and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to the Portuguese territories. Her efforts were particularly impactful during King Leopold II's brutal exploitation period when an estimated 10 million Congolese died. Ngono's work is documented in missionary archives and local oral traditions, though largely overlooked in mainstream histories. She also established the first women's cooperative in Boma to provide economic alternatives to enslaved communities. The Matilde Ngono Memorial Center in Pointe-Noire now preserves her legacy through educational programs about Congo's colonial history.