Ricardo Lumengo grew up in Angola, he fled his homeland in 1982 at the age of 20 years due to lawsuits he had been subjected to because of his political involvement as a student. He came to Switzerland, where he asked for asylum. After a few years, he obtained a residence permit and in 1997 he became a Swiss citizen. He lives in Biel since 1997.Lumengo speaks French, German, Portuguese, English, Spanish and Bantu languages such as Kikongo, Kikongo ya Leta and Lingala He studied law at the University of Fribourg and worked as a legal adviser at the center of intercultural encounter Multimondo in Bienne. He is single and the father of two children who live with their mother in Central Africa.