‘Symbol of resistance’: Lumumba, Congolese hero killed before his prime history news

Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo – Shortly before noon on a Thursday in June 1960, 34-year-old Patrice Lumumba stepped onto the stage at the Palace of the Nations in Leopoldville (present-day Kinshasa) with a dream of uniting his newly liberated country.

Standing before dignitaries and politicians, including King Baudouin of Belgium, from which the then Republic of the Congo had recently gained its independence, the first Prime Minister delivered a rousing, somewhat unexpected speech that enthralled the Europeans .

Lumumba said, “No Congolese worthy of the name will ever forget that (our independence) was won by fighting.”

“Slavery was forced upon us,” she continued, while the king looked on in shock. “We remember the blows we had to endure morning, noon and night because we were ‘Negroes’.”

He declared that, with independence, the future of the country ultimately lay in the hands of its own people. “We will show the world what the black man can do, working in freedom, and we will make the Congo the pride of Africa.”

But this one promise remained unfulfilled, as the young leader died just six months later.

The details of his assassination remained unclear for years, but it is now known that armed Congolese forces, with the assistance of Belgium and the tacit approval of the United States, assassinated Lumumba on January 17, 1961. .

Sixty-four years later, Lumumba remains a symbol of African resistance, while many Congolese still carry the burden of his abortive legacy – whether they subscribe to his ideas or not.

‘His death saddened me’

“When I learned of Lumumba’s death, I was shocked,” said Kasareka Lukombola, 85, who lives in the Virunga quarter of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Their gold-colored Western-style house, unusual in the region, was built during the colonial period and is a reminder of the remains of nearly 80 years of Belgian rule.

Lukombola, he said, was born during World War II. “At that time, a black man in Africa could not resist the white settlers for some reasons, including the color of his skin and the fact that he was a slave. “Those who dared to challenge the whites were either jailed, beaten, or killed.”

Lumumba was 20 years old when he was assassinated. “I remember I was in my village Bingi (when I heard the news). I regretted it, his death distressed me. On that date, I didn’t eat, I had insomnia,” he said, adding that he still remembers it as if it was yesterday.

Lukombola accused the Wazungu (a word meaning “foreigner”, but generally used for Belgian colonists) of being behind the murder.

“The Belgians were racially segregating the Congo, and Lumumba spoke out against it. He encouraged us to fight tooth and nail to get rid of the colonialists,” he said.

“He discovered some plots by the colonialists against us, the Congolese people. They wanted to enslave us forever. “Then hatred developed in the minds of the people of Belgium towards him, due to which he was murdered.”

Lukombola believes that if Lumumba had not been killed, he would have transformed the country into a real “El Dorado” for millions of Congolese based on his vision for his people and the entire continent.

Goma-based Congolese researcher Tumsifu Akram believes that Lumumba was killed on the orders of some Western powers who wanted to maintain control of Congo’s natural wealth.

“The decision to eliminate the first Congolese prime minister was taken by American and other officials at the highest levels,” he told Al Jazeera.

Although Lumumba had friends both inside and outside the country, “no matter how many they had, his friends were not as determined to save him as his enemies were determined and organized to eliminate him,” Akram said. “His friends supported him more with words than with deeds.”

only one tooth left

Just days after Lumumba gave his Independence Day speech on June 30, 1960, chaos began to spread in the country. An armed rebellion followed and then the secession of the mineral-rich Katanga province in July. Belgium sent troops to Katanga. Congo then asked the United Nations for help, and although they sent peacekeepers, they did not deploy them in Katanga. Lumumba therefore reached out to the Soviet Union for assistance – a move that alarmed Belgium and the US.

In September, President Joseph Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from the government, which he ignored. Shortly thereafter, a military coup led by Congolese Colonel Joseph Mobutu (later known as dictator Mobutu Sese Seko) completely removed him from power. Lumumba was placed under house arrest, from which he escaped, but was captured by Mobutu’s forces in December.

On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and two associates, Joseph Okito and Maurice Mapolo, were flown to Katanga – soldiers beat and tortured them during the flight and at their destination.

Later that day, all three were executed by Katangan firing squad under Belgian surveillance.

Their bodies were first thrown into shallow graves, but were later dug up, cut into pieces and the remains dissolved in acid.

In the end, only one tooth remained of Lumumba, which was stolen by a Belgian policeman and returned to Lumumba’s relatives only in 2022.

In the years since the murder, Belgium has acknowledged that he was “morally responsible for the circumstances leading to the death”. Meanwhile, information exposing the involvement of the American CIA in the conspiracy to assassinate Lumumba has also come to light.

a big mistake’?

At his home in Goma, Lukombola recalled all the “initiatives” he had taken during his country’s complex history, including taking part in the first municipal elections of 1957 – in which he ran for Lumumba’s Congolese National Movement (MNC) party. The vote was “because I was convinced it had a great vision for our country. It was out of a sense of pride,” he said.

He described being around during the riots of 4 January 1959; Congo declared independence on June 30, 1960; the separation of Katanga and South Kasai between July and August 1960; and the joys of Zaire’s economic and political peak in the mid-1960s.

Having lived through the reigns of all five Congolese presidents, Lukombola understands the “enigma” of the DRC and has seen how much it can change.

His only regret, he said, is that many historic events happened after Lumumba died. “Had he lived, he would have restored us to glory and greatness.”

However, not everyone views Lumumba’s legacy with such awe and kindness.

Grace Bahati, a 45-year-old father of five, believes Lumumba is at the root of some of the misfortunes that have befallen the DRC and the country still grapples with today.

According to him, the first Prime Minister was too quick to want immediate independence for the Congo, while lacking enough intellectuals to be able to lead the country after the departure of the Belgians.

“Lumumba was quick to demand independence. I found that many of our leaders were not prepared to lead this country and that is unfortunate,” Bahati told Al Jazeera. “In my opinion, this was a big mistake on Lumumba’s part.”

Goma historian Danny Kaye does not agree with this view. He believes that Lumumba saw from afar that independence was the only solution, noting that the Belgians had been exploiting the country for almost 80 years and it was the Congolese who were suffering.

“Lumumba was not the first to demand the immediate independence of the country. The first to do this were soldiers who came from the Second World War, who fought alongside the colonists,” Kaye also said.

But after Lumumba’s alleged “radicalism” – when he was seen to be cozying up to the Soviet Union – he found himself in the crosshairs of Western countries as they viewed him as a threat to their interests during the crucial Cold War, the historian said. . Congolese people like Mobutu Sese-Seko were then used in maneuvers against him.

“For a long time, Congo has been the envy of the country because of its natural resources. The Belgians did not want to leave the country, and the only way to continue exploiting it was to anarchize it and kill its nationalists,” Kaye explained. “It was in this context that Lumumba, his friend Maurice Mapolo, then president of the Senate, and Joseph Okito, then youth minister, died together.”

‘He fought for justice’

Jean Jacques Lumumba is the nephew of Patrice Lumumba and an activist committed to the fight against corruption in the country.

The 38-year-old grew up in Kinshasa, raised by his mother and younger brother, but was forced into exile in 2016 after being accused of corruption in the circle of former Congolese President Joseph Kabila.

To him, his uncle remains a symbol of a fairer and better Congo, and someone he draws inspiration from in his activism.

“In my family, they used to tell me that he was a person with an unusual personality. He was very frank and direct. “He had a sense of honor and the pursuit of truth from an early age right up to his political struggle,” Jean Jacques told Al Jazeera.

“He fought for justice and fairness. He himself denied corruption, calling it “one of the evils characteristic of developing countries.”

“(Patrice Lumumba) wanted prosperity and development… This is inspiring in the fight I am continuing for the emergence of the African continent.”

Jean Jacques feels that Lumumba no longer belongs only to the DRC and Africa, but to all who desire freedom and dignity around the world.

Although he never met his uncle, he is glad that his memories and legacy live on.

And although he met a tragic and devastating end, for Jean Jacques, Lumumba’s demise is also something that has immortalized his name and the battles he fought.

African leaders must honor the memory of people like him and others who sacrificed their lives to build a “developed, bright and prosperous Africa, ready to establish itself at the summit of nations,” the young Lumumba said.

Lumumba’s ‘eternal’ legacy

More than six decades after Lumumba’s assassination, the DRC continues to grapple with multiple crises – from armed insurgency to resource extraction and poverty.

Although it is a country of vast natural wealth, it has not reached the majority of Congolese people – many in the country attribute this to continued exploitation by internal and external forces.

Goma resident Daniel Makasi believes that the colonialism that Lumumba was so determined to fight is still going strong – although it manifests in different ways today.

“Today, many forms of colonization continue through multinational companies that exploit resources in the DRC with no benefits to ordinary citizens,” he told Al Jazeera.

He said Africans need to carry forward the spirit of Lumumba to prevent such neo-colonialism as far as possible, so that they can enjoy their natural wealth to the fullest.

Makassi urged people to follow his example, saying Lumumba was able to transform the country in a short time, making Congolese “proud”, and that this makes him “eternal”.

Others also agree that future generations owe Lumumba an “immense” debt for what he started.

Moise Komayombi, another resident of Goma, recalled his June 1960 Independence Day address, saying, “For me, Patrice Emery Lumumba is a symbol of resistance to imperialist forces.”

“He inspired us to remain nationalists and defend our homeland against all forms of colonialism,” Komayombi said, reminding himself that Lumumba’s work was still not done.