Patrice Lumumba, an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, is the first prime minister of the independent nation, the Republic of Congo. Born on July 2, 1925, in Onalua in Kasai province of the Belgian Congo, Lumumba emerged to become one of Africa’s most vocal critics of colonialism. Early in life, he developed interests in grassroots union activities and joined the Postal Union. As secretary-general of the union, Lumumba began publishing essays critical of Belgian colonial rule and advocating independence and a unified centralised Congo. His writings appealed beyond ethnic and regional loyalties to a national constituency.
In 1958, Lumumba became the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) but his relentless attacks on Belgian rule soon fractured the MNC, resulting in a leadership split in July 1959. Undaunted, Lumumba insisted on the complete dismantling of Belgian rule, playing a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.
In October 1959, he was arrested for allegedly inciting anti-colonial riots and sentenced to six months. Shortly thereafter, the Belgian government summoned a conference in Brussels to discuss the future of the Congo. Confronted by MNC’s threat of boycott, the government released Lumumba. In Brussels, Lumumba boldly condemned Belgian rule and advocated immediate independence. Convinced of the imminence of Congolese freedom, Belgium set aside June 30, 1960, as Independence Day.
The Movement National Congolais (MNC) won the majority in the general election held in May 1960, and Lumumba became prime minister of the Congo, with his political rival Joseph Kasavubu as president. Lumumba’s scathing denunciation of colonialism ruffled feathers not only in Belgium but also in the United States and Great Britain.
Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis. Lumumba appealed to the United States and the United Nations for help to suppress the Belgian-supported Katangan secessionists led by Moïse Tshombe. Both refused, as the Belgian government had convinced them that Lumumba was communist, anti-white, and anti-Western.
When the United Nations ignored Lumumba’s repeated appeals for intervention, he turned to the Soviet Union. This move only deepened the suspicion as the west described his move as a “classic communist takeover”. This also led to growing differences with President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and chief-of-staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, as well as with the United States and Belgium, who opposed the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
Using the crisis as an excuse, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba as Prime Minister. Though reinstated by the National Assembly, Lumumba was subsequently overthrown by Col. Joseph (later Sese Seko) Mobutu.
After Mobutu’s military coup, Lumumba was placed under house arrest. He attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu rival state called the Free Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was captured and imprisoned en route by state authorities under Mobutu. He was reportedly handed over to Katangan authorities, and executed on January 18, 1961, in the presence of Katangan and Belgian officials and military officers. Reports have it that his body was thrown into a shallow grave, but later dug up and destroyed.
Lumumba became a martyr and symbol of Congolese and African freedom. He is remembered today as one of only a handful of African leaders truly dedicated to national unity and genuine independence.
In February 2002, responding to a Belgian Commission’s Report that implicated Belgium in Lumumba’s death, the Belgian government acknowledged “moral responsibility” and officially apologised. Lumumba remains an inspiration to African politicians. Several of the major political parties in the 2006 presidential election in the Congo invoked Lumumba’s legacy.
In June 2022, more than 60 years after he was assassinated, the Belgian authorities made history by returning the gold-crowned tooth of Patrice Lumumba said to be the only part of his body that existed after his remains were dissolved in acid. The Belgian policeman who was mandated to dispose of Lumumba’s remains took the tooth as a trophy.
After returning the tooth to the Republic of Congo, personalities like President Félix Tshisekedi, Lumumba’s family and other dignitaries were able to pay their respects to the heroic Lumumba before the historic tooth which toured several parts of DR Congo in a coffin was placed for funeral that took place in the capital, Kinshasa, on a road named in Lumumba’s honour.
Lumumba is also remembered for his various quotes which have continued to inspire African nationalism. The following quotes have remained evergreen till date:
- “The colonialists care nothing for Africa for her own sake. They are attracted by African riches and their actions are guided by the desire to preserve their interests in Africa against the wishes of the African people. For the colonialists all means are good if they help them to possess these riches”. Speech at the All-African Conference in Leopoldville August, 1960.
- “African unity and solidarity are no longer dreams. They must be expressed in decisions”. Speech at the opening of the All-African Conference in Leopoldville August 25,1960.
- A minimum of comfort is necessary for the practice of virtue.
- “Neither cruelty, nor violence, nor torture will make me beg for mercy, because I prefer to die with my head raised high, with unshakeable faith… In my country’s predestination rather than live in submission forsaking my sacred principles.”― Lumumba Speaks: The Speeches and Writings of Patrice Lumumba, 1958-1961
- “All together, dear brothers and sisters, workers and government employees, workers by brain and by hand, rich and poor, Africans and Europeans, Catholics and Protestants, Kimbanguists and Kitawalists, let us unite and create a great nation.”― Patrice Lumumba, Lumumba Speaks: The Speeches and Writings of Patrice Lumumba, 1958-1961
