Revolutionary Patrice Lumumba's life, his death in 1961 and recent burial of his remains

Patrice Emery Lumumba was a devoted Pan African. He was the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from June until September 1960. He was later assassinated on January 17, 1961.

Author Karen Bouwer in her book 'Gender and Decolonization in the Congo', says that most Africans considered Lumumba to be the second most important African leader of the twentieth century, after Nelson Mandela. 

Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba was born on July 2nd 1925 in Onalua, Kasai province, Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He was born to Julienne Wamato Lomendja and François Tolenga Otetshima.

Lumumba was raised in a catholic family, he received his early education in a protestant primary school and a Catholic missionary school. He later proceeded to the government post office training school. Lumumba was known to be very vibrant in his school days, this would definitely influence his later life.

Like all African youths of his time, Lumumba grew up with anti-colonialist ideals. He used his talent as a poet to champion the course. Before politics, Lumumba worked in various jobs. He was a travelling beer salesman, postal clerk and personal assistant for French sociologist Pierre Clément.

Lumumba married Pauline Opango in 1951, and they begot four children; Patrice, Julienne, Roland and Marie-Christine. Upon the death of Lumumba, Pauline is said to be only 23 years old. Culturally, she had to cut her hair as a way of mourning her deceased husband. Pauline would later be recognised as an activist in the Congo.

Patrice Lumumba's political journey

In 1952 Lumumba co-founded the Stanleyville chapter of the Association des Anciens élèves des pères de Scheut (ADAPÉS), an alumni association for former students at Scheut schools. He became its leader. 

Later in 1955, Lumumba became the regional head of a purely Congolese trade union of government employees. He also became active in the Congolese chapter of the Liberal Party of Belgium that year.

At one point after an educational tour to Belgium, he was arrested on arrival and charged with embezzlement of funds from the Post Office he was working. According to the charges, Lumumba was convicted and charged a year later with 12 months and a fine.

After being released from prison, Lumumba became more active in politics. He helped form the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party in October 1958, becoming its chair.

Unlike other parties at that time in DRC, the MNC championed the inclusivity of all ethnic groups. It advocated for independence, the gradual Africanization of DRC, a state-led economic development, and neutrality in foreign affairs.

In December of that year, Patrice Lumumba attended the first All-African People’s Conference in Accra, Ghana, where he met nationalists from various countries who shared with him the idea of Pan Africanism. 

In his speech at the conference, Lumumba explained the situation in Congo and affirmed MNC's commitment to freeing DRC from the shackles of colonialism. He also expressed his joy in seeing Africans from all over the continent united at Accra, woke and ready to fight imperialism. 

In the book 'Death In The Congo: Murdering Patrice Lumumba', Emmanuel Gerard and Bruce Kuklick write that "his intelligence and ability impressed the African leaders— especially Ghana’s first prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah." 

Lumumba authored the book 'Congo, My Country' between 1956 and 1957. It was later published in Belgium after his death. The book speaks about the tribulations of his country under Belgium's rule and how the Belgians would achieve a brotherly understanding with the natives of congo about the independence of the country.

With the loud calls for independence, the Belgium government give in to the demands for an African government in Congo. There was a planned election in December 1959 in which the MNC disputed it as a technique by the Belgian government to install puppets. 

The party further threatened to boycott the elections. In October, riots broke out resulting in the death of several people and Lumumba's imprisonment on charges of inciting violence. After this, the party decided to take part in the elections while Lumumba was in prison. 

According to Britannica, the party won by garnering 90 percent of the votes cast. In January the following year, the Belgian government convened a conference in Brussels to discuss the handover of power. All parties were represented except the MNC which demanded the release of Lumumba from prison before they take part in the talks.

Lumumba was therefore released and flown to Belgium. Sometimes back I was watching the dramatization of Lumumba's life: Before his release, Lumumba had been tortured by the prison guards, leaving an open wound to bleed. One of the Belgian delegates in Brussels asked what had happened to him and he said that it was a result of the flight's change in altitude.

Patrice Lumumba pictured in Brussels, 1960.

The conference in Brussels was in favour of the demands of the Congolese people. Freedom was coming, it was knocking at the door and Patrice Lumumba couldn't hold his joy. In his statement at the closing session, Lumumba remarked: 

We are now about to return home 'with our independence in our baggage', proud to be able to give our people the joy of knowing themselves as free and independent.

 

It was also agreed by the conference that elections be scheduled between May 11 - 15 that year and that  June 30 be the independence day. The MNC emerged as the winner of the election with Patrice Lumumba as the leader. He formed the first government of Congo on June 24, 1960. This was after a period of negotiations and heated debates with the other Congolese parties.

Lumumba wished for the Africanization of DRC. African socialist ideals used by Dr Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana had impressed him. However, the Belgian government would not buy into his plan for the new DRC. It threatened their interests in postcolonial DRC.

Events Leading to the death of Patrice Lumumba

The independence day on June 30 was another major event in the activism life of Patrice Lumumba. The big day was attended by many dignitaries including King Baudouin of Belgium and the foreign press. 

It happened that Lumumba was not scheduled to make a speech. He however made an impromptu speech that greatly threaten the forces of neocolonialism. He praised the Congolese people for their selfless efforts in ending colonialism and slavery in the Congo. He also expressed his dreams of an absolute free Congo.

The international press criticized his speech claiming that it was a call to violence against Belgians. Time magazine classified the speech as a "venomous attack", but was it? 

Immediately after independence day, there was an army mutiny against white officers. Lumumba's rival, Moise Tshombe, took advantage of the situation and declared that Katanga (a mineral-rich province) was seceding from the DRC. 

The Belgium government sent troops to calm the situation but according to Britannica, "the Belgian troops landed principally in Katanga, where they sustained Tshombe’s secessionist regime." The Congolese army could not handle the situation alone.

As the Prime Minister, Lumumba appealed to the United Nations (UN) to help restore order and summon Belgian troops out of DRC. The UN failed to heed his call so he turned to the Soviet Union for help. Lumumba also called for the help of all independent African states to rally behind his country.

His new moves in ensuring the peace and independence of his country alarmed some Western powers. President Joseph Kasavubu was also made to believe that Lumumba had become a threat to DRC. 

On September 5, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from his position but the legality of his decision was dismissed by Lumumba. As the political crisis continued, Congolese army leader Col.  Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko overthrew the government in a coup d'etat on 14th September.

Patrice Lumumba personally visited Mobutu to try and find the solution to the problem but he didn't find him. African diplomats also tried to settle the conflict in the Congo by mediating between Kasavubu and Lumumba but the Kasavubu side was noted as uncooperative. It was also believed that the Belgian and United States governments were responsible.

Lumumba was then put on house arrest by Mobutu's forces. After the UN general assembly recognized Kasavubu's government, Lumumba's life was becoming more unsafe. He escaped the home confinement and left for his stronghold in Stanleyville.

 

Unlucky for the Independence hero, he was arrested on 2nd December by Mobutu's forces. They held him at a military camp in today's Mbanza-Ngungu later transferring him to another location deemed as secure. The place was said by BBC to be the "Belgian-backed province of Katanga - known for its hostility to Mr Lumumba". A strategic plan for Lumumba's assassination.

The death and repatriation of Patrice Lumumba's remains to DRC

On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and his allies, Joseph Okito and Maurice Mpolo were flown to Elisabethville (currently Lubumbashi). It was reported that they were "severely beaten by Belgian-led guards".

Patrice Lumumba and his comrades in custody

Later in the day, the three men were executed by a firing squad, their bodies were then buried in shallow graves. The bodies, among them that of Patrice Lumumba, were later exhumed, cut into pieces and dissolved in acid. Everything was reported to have happened under Belgian officers' order.

Rumours of his death spread but the Katangan authority withheld the information releasing it officially later on February 13. The authority claimed that Lumumba had escaped their custody and was killed by the villagers who caught him.

On 30th June 2020, Lumumba's daughter, Juliana Lumumba wrote a letter appealing directly to Philippe, King of the Belgians, for the return of his father's remains, describing him as "a hero without a grave". 

Later on September 10, a Belgian judge ruled that the remains (which then consisted of just a single gold-capped tooth) must be returned to the family. The tooth was taken and kept as a trophy by the Belgian officers who had overseen the assassination.

Handing over of Lumumba's remain in Brussels.

The remains were officially handed over to the children of Lumumba on 20th June 2022 in a ceremony at Egmont Palace in Brussels. The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, apologised on behalf of his government for the country's role in Lumumba's assassination. A part of Mr Alexander's speech read:

For my part, I would like to apologise here, in the presence of his family, for the way in which the Belgian government influenced the decision to end the life of the country's first prime minister... A man was murdered for his political convictions, his words, his ideals.

 

Lumumba's burial was held in a special mausoleum in Kinshasa on the 62nd anniversary of DRC's independence day. It was the same day that the hero gave a fiery speech. The sitting president, Felix Tshisekedi, was reported by Aljazeera saying: "Finally, the Congolese people can have the honour of offering a burial to their illustrious prime minister,” 

Many people today regard Patrice Lumumba as a Pan-African Martyr. Writing about the death of Lumumba, The Guardian refers to it as "the most important assassination of the 20th century". Belgium has begun making up for its negative roles in colonialism, and we hope that other responsible countries may follow suit.