Rocky Bushiri Kisonga (born 30 November 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for side Hibernian and the DR Congo national team.
He has previously played for K.V. Oostende and Norwich City, spending almost the entirety of his spell at Norwich on loan at other clubs.
Bushiri was born in DR Congo, his family moved to Belgium soon after.https://www.nutmegmagazine.co.uk/issue-38/rocky-bushiri-hibs/ He played for Belgian under-19 and under-21 teams. He switched his international allegiance to DR Congo in March 2023, and made his full international debut for them later that year.
Club career Oostende Bushiri joined the youth academy of K.V. Oostende in 2012 after impressing in a provincial tournament representing Walloon Brabant. He signed his first professional contract with Oostende in June 2017, for two years. He made his professional debut in a 1–0 Belgian First Division A loss to KV Mechelen on 9 December 2017, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for Oostende.
Norwich City On 3 July 2019, it was announced that Bushiri would join Norwich City on a four-year deal, initially linking up with the U23 squad. On 1 August 2019, Bushiri joined League One club Blackpool on a season-long loan deal. Bushiri scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s in an EFL Trophy tie on 5 November 2019.
On 30 June 2020, Bushiri went out on loan again, this time joining Mechelen on a season-long deal.
On 26 January 2021, Bushiri moved to Belgium side KAS Eupen, on a loan deal until the end of the season.
Hibernian On 10 January 2022, Bushiri joined Scottish Premiership side Hibernian on loan for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy in the summer. His number of appearances during the loan triggered that option, and he signed a three-year contract with Hibs in June 2022.
After he played against Morton, whilst he was supposed to be suspended for receiving two cautions in earlier ties, Morton were awarded a default 3–0 victory which led to Hibernian being knocked out of the Scottish League Cup. He played regularly during the first half of the 2022–23 season, but was then unavailable for more than three months due to an ankle injury.
Bushiri scored his first goal for the club on 26 November 2024, scoring a 97th-minute equaliser in a 3–3 draw with Aberdeen. That goal started a club-record run of 17 league games without defeat, with Bushiri featuring regularly as the team finished third in the Premiership.
His contract with Hibernian expired at the end of the 2024–25 season, but he signed a new three-year deal with the club in June 2025.
International career Bushiri's grandfather, Albert Kisonga, was an ambassador to Belgium. Bushiri represented Belgium in youth internationals up to and including the under-21 level, but changed his international allegiance in March 2023 so that he could play for DR Congo. Bushiri was first selected by DR Congo in June 2023, for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches. He made his full international debut in September 2023, playing in a friendly against South Africa.
Bushiri was selected in the Congolese squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but was forced to withdraw after suffering an achilles tendon injury during the last match of the 2025–26 season.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKV Oostende2017–18Belgian First Division A2000—600080Eupen (loan)2018–19Belgian First Division A23021—8000331Norwich City2019–20Premier League000000——002020–21Championship000000——002021–22Premier League000000——00Total000000000000Blackpool (loan)2019–20League One400010—2171Sint-Truiden (loan)2019–20Belgian First Division A7000———70Mechelen (loan)2020–21Belgian First Division A6000———60Eupen (loan)2020–21Belgian First Division A1021———31Hibernian (loan)2021–22Scottish Premiership14010———150Hibernian2022–23Scottish Premiership 1501040——2002023–24Scottish Premiership262102050003422024–25Scottish Premiership283314000003542025–26Scottish Premiership210000620083Total7165110011200979Career total12861031102522117612
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsDR Congo202310202410202551202610Total81
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bushiri goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Rocky BushiriNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain2–02–0Friendly
References
External links
UEFA Europa League Profile