in January 2002. He played in the 0–0 draw with Togo, 1–0 loss to Cameroon, 3–1 win over Ivory Coast and the quarter-final match against Senegal, which DR Congo lost 2–0 amid some controversy. LuaLua blamed the referee Domenico Messina for the defeat, "We had a lot of fouls which the referee didn't give and there was a penalty right in front of him but he just let the match go on, sometimes they [the Senegalese] fell over without being touched, screamed and the referee just gave the foul to them." DR Congo's qualifying campaign for the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia began six months after the 2002 tournament ended, with a match against Libya on 8 September, Libya won the match 3–2. LuaLua initially indicated that he might not play in the match, but did so reluctantly after threats were made to his family, which caused him to reconsider his international career. Robson commented, "He didn't want to go and play in that match. But he said he had to go because his grandmother had been threatened." He played in the 2–0 win over Botswana in October 2002, when he scored inside five minutes but was later sent off for dissent. He was suspended for two matches and his next appearance was in the 0–0 draw with Botswana in July 2003, which secured qualification for the finals of the competition. LuaLua initially expressed doubts that he would take part in the finals due to club commitments. He was, however, included in the squad and named as captain in the absence of regular captain, Shabani Nonda, who missed the tournament due to a knee injury. LuaLua said on being named as captain, "When Shabani plays, it takes the pressure off me but now everyone's now looking to me for leadership and I feel honoured." He appeared in the first match of the tournament, a 2–1 defeat to Guinea, but in the next match against the hosts Tunisia, he was sent off, reacting angrily and taking several minutes to leave the pitch. DR Congo went on to lose the match and were eliminated from the tournament. Following his sending off, LuaLua considered giving up international football and criticised the behaviour of the Tunisia players during the match and the organisation of the tournament. He later criticised the national football federation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congolese Association