Dikembe Mutombo with Senator John McCain and Ambassador Cindy McCain after receiving the McCain Institute’s Award for Courage and Leadership in 2016.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 30, 2024) – The McCain Institute joins the world in mourning the loss of Dikembe Mutombo. A longtime friend of the McCain family, Mutombo was honored with the McCain Institute’s Award for Courage and Leadership in 2016 and joined the McCain Institute’s McCain Global Leaders Advisory Council in 2021 after supporting the McCain Institute since its beginning.
“Dikembe was a shining example of a leader who used his humanity foremost in everything he sought to build, those works being so numerous that they are difficult to name in their entirety. In all he did he also brought his humility and character, whether in sports, bringing healthcare to those in need, or leading aid and development in his home nation of Congo. The world is a lesser place without him, and our family will miss him dearly,” said McCain Institute Board of Trustees Member Jack McCain.
“Dikembe Mutombo’s passing is a profound loss. A close friend and early supporter of the McCain Institute, Dikembe was a true humanitarian with a heart of gold. He leveraged his celebrity status to advocate for the underserved in Africa, especially in his home country the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are grateful for his counsel on our McCain Global Leaders Advisory Council and his many years of support of the Institute and its work. We extend our deepest sympathies to Dikembe’s wife Rose, their children, and all his family, friends, and teammates who are mourning this enormous loss,” said McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas.
A Congolese American humanitarian, Mutombo came to the United States in 1987 as an undergraduate student at Georgetown University in Washington. He played basketball on the University’s team and thereafter had an 18-year career in the NBA.
Mutombo promoted the game worldwide as the NBA’s first Global Ambassador. Mutombo dedicated his life to advocacy and ambassadorship as Chairman of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, ensuring those across Africa, and especially those living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) received access to health services, education, and economic opportunities.
He created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, the year his mother passed away. The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, named after his mother, opened its doors to patients 10 years later in December 2007. Mutombo personally contributed more than $23 million to build and equip the hospital. He also created the Samuel Mutombo Institute for Science and Entrepreneurship, named after his father, in Mbuji-Mayi, Congo.
The McCain Institute presented its 2016 Award for Courage and Leadership to Mutombo.
When Senator McCain passed away in 2018, Mutombo had this to say:
“My favorite memory of John McCain is when he and his wife asked to come with me to Somalia to see the refugee crisis… He told me, ‘We want to go with you to Somalia. I want to see what you guys are doing and to see the program you have in place.’ We have been friends for 27 years, and this loss is very big for me and also for my family and foundation. He’s been a great supporter of my work.”
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.