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

Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Shortly earlier noon connected a Thursday successful June 1960, 34-year-old Patrice Lumumba stepped up to the podium astatine the Palace of the Nation successful Leopoldville (current-day Kinshasa) with a imagination to unite his recently liberated country.

Standing earlier dignitaries and politicians, including King Baudouin of Belgium from which the then-Republic of the Congo had conscionable won its independence, the first-ever premier curate gave a rousing, somewhat unexpected code that ruffled feathers among the Europeans.

“No Congolese worthy of the sanction volition ever beryllium capable to hide that it was by warring that [our independence] has been won,” Lumumba said.

“Slavery was imposed connected america by force,” helium continued, portion the king looked connected successful shock. “We retrieve the blows that we had to taxable to morning, noon and nighttime due to the fact that we were ‘negroes’.”

With independence, the country’s aboriginal was yet successful the hands of his ain people, helium proclaimed. “We shall amusement the satellite what the Black antheral tin bash erstwhile moving successful liberty, and we shall marque the Congo the pridefulness of Africa.”

But this was a committedness near unfulfilled, arsenic conscionable six months aboriginal the young person was dead.

For years murkiness surrounded the details of his killing, but it is present known that equipped Congolese men murdered Lumumba connected January 17, 1961, aided by the Belgians and with the tacit support of the United States.

Sixty-four years on, Lumumba remains a awesome of African resistance, portion galore Congolese inactive transportation the load of his aborted bequest – whether they favoured his ideas oregon not.

Patrice Lumumba, centre, and supporters connected September 7, 1960, successful Leopoldville, Congo [File: AP Photo]

‘His decease distressed me’

“When I learned of Lumumba’s death, I was shocked,” said 85-year-old Kasereka Lukombola, who lives successful the Virunga 4th of Goma, successful eastbound Democratic Republic of the Congo.

His gold-coloured Western-style house, antithetic successful this region, was built during assemblage times and is simply a reminder of the vestiges of astir 80 years of Belgian rule.

Lukombola was calved during World War II, helium said. “At that time, a Black antheral successful Africa could not reason the achromatic settlers for definite reasons, including the colour of his tegument and the information that helium was enslaved. Those who dared to situation the whites were either imprisoned, beaten up oregon killed.”

He was 20 erstwhile Lumumba was killed. Though it took weeks for quality of his decease to emerge, Lukombola remembers that nighttime arsenic being 1 of the “darkest” helium has ever known.

“I retrieve being successful my colony successful Bingi [when I heard the news]. I regretted it, his decease had distressed me. On that date, I didn’t eat, I had insomnia,” helium said, adding that helium inactive remembers it arsenic if it were yesterday.

Lukombola accuses the Wazungu (a word meaning “foreigners”, but mostly utilized for Belgian colonists) of having been down the assassination.

“The Belgians were racially segregating the Congo, and Lumumba outcried against this. He encouraged america to combat bony and nail to get escaped of the colonisers,” helium said.

“He had discovered definite plots by the colonists against us, the Congolese people. They wanted to enslave america forever. That’s erstwhile the Belgians developed a hatred against him, which led to his assassination.”

Lukombola believes that if Lumumba hadn’t been killed, helium would person transformed the state into a veritable “El Dorado” for millions of Congolese, based connected the imaginativeness helium had for his radical and the continent arsenic a whole.

Jeeps carrying Congolese soldiers walk by arsenic radical look connected on a roadside successful Congo connected December 7, 1960, aft the apprehension of Patrice Lumumba [File: Horst Faas/AP Photo]

Tumsifu Akram, a Congolese researcher based successful Goma, believes Lumumba was killed connected the orders of definite Western powers who wanted to support clasp of Congo’s earthy wealth.

“The determination to destruct the archetypal Congolese premier curate was taken by American and different officials astatine the highest level,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Though Lumumba had friends some wrong and extracurricular the country, “as galore arsenic they were, his friends were not truthful determined to prevention him arsenic his enemies were determined and organised to decorativeness him off,” Akram said. “His friends supported him much successful words than successful deeds.”

Only a bony remained

Just days aft Lumumba delivered his June 1960 Independence Day speech, the state began to autumn into chaos. There was an equipped mutiny, and past the secession of the mineral-rich state of Katanga successful July. Belgium sent troops to Katanga. Congo past asked the United Nations for help, and though they sent peacekeepers, they did not deploy them to Katanga. So Lumumba reached retired to the Soviet Union for assistance – a determination that alarmed Belgium and the US.

In September, President Joseph Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from government, thing helium ignored. Soon after, a subject coup led by Congolese Colonel Joseph Mobutu (later known arsenic dictator Mobutu Sese Seko) afloat removed him from power. Lumumba was placed nether location arrest, from which helium escaped, lone to beryllium captured by Mobutu’s forces successful December.

On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and 2 associates, Joseph Okito and Maurice Mpolo, were past taken to Katanga by level – soldiers bushed and tortured them connected the formation and astatine their destination.

Later that day, each 3 were executed by a Katangan firing squad, nether Belgian supervision.

Their bodies were astatine archetypal thrown into shallow graves, but aboriginal dug up, hacked into pieces, and the remains dissolved successful acid.

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

In the years since the killing, Belgium has acknowledged that it was “morally liable for circumstances starring to the death”. Meanwhile, accusation has besides travel to airy exposing the US CIA’s involvement successful a crippled to termination Lumumba.

A ‘big mistake’?

At his location successful Goma, Lukombola recounted each the “firsts” he’s lived done during his country’s analyzable history, including taking portion successful the archetypal municipal predetermination of 1957 – successful which helium voted for Lumumba’s Congolese National Movement (MNC) enactment “because I was convinced it had a large imaginativeness for our country. It was retired of a consciousness of pride,” helium said.

He recounted being astir during the riots of January 4, 1959; the proclamation of the Congo’s independency connected June 30, 1960; the secession of Katanga and South Kasai betwixt July and August 1960; and the joys of Zaire’s economical and governmental pinnacle successful the mid-1960s.

Having lived done the reign of each 5 Congolese presidents, Lukombola understands the “enigma” that is the DRC and has seen however overmuch it tin change.

His lone regret, helium said, is that galore historical events occurred aft Lumumba had passed on. “If helium were alive, helium would reconstruct america to glory and greatness.”

However, not everyone looks astatine Lumumba’s bequest with specified awe and kindness.

Grace Bahati, a 45-year-old begetter of five, believes Lumumba is astatine the basal of immoderate of the misfortunes that person befallen the DRC and that the state continues to grapple with.

According to him, the archetypal premier curate was excessively speedy successful wanting contiguous independency for the Congo, portion the state lacked capable intelligentsia to beryllium capable to pb it aft the departure of the Belgians.

“Lumumba was successful a hurry to inquire for independence. I recovered that galore of our leaders were not prepared to pb this country, and that’s unfortunate,” Bahati told Al Jazeera. “In my opinion, it was a large mistake connected Lumumba’s part.”

Lumumba signs the enactment of independency of the Congo successful Leopoldville, Congo connected June 30, 1960. At his close is Gaston Eyskens, the Belgian premier minister, who signed the enactment connected behalf of Belgium. The Congo had been administered by Belgium for astir 80 years [File: Jean-Jacques Levy/AP Photo]

Dany Kayeye, a historiographer successful Goma, does not stock this view. He believes Lumumba saw from afar that independency was the lone solution, fixed that the Belgians had been exploiting the state for astir 80 years and it was the Congolese who were suffering.

“Lumumba was not the archetypal to request the country’s contiguous independence. The archetypal to bash truthful were the soldiers who had travel from the 2nd satellite war, having fought alongside the colonists,” Kayeye besides noted.

But it was aft Lumumba’s expected “radicalisation” – erstwhile helium was seen to beryllium forging ties with the Soviet Union – that helium recovered himself successful Western crosshairs arsenic they considered him arsenic a menace to their interests during the important Cold War period, the historiographer said. Congolese similar Mobutu Sese-Seko were past utilized successful the manoeuvres against him.

“For a agelong time, the Congo had been envied due to the fact that of its earthy resources. The Belgians didn’t privation to permission the country, and the lone mode to proceed exploiting it was to anarchise it and termination its nationalists,” Kayeye explained. “It was successful this discourse that Lumumba, his friends Maurice Mpolo, past president of the Senate, and Joseph Okito, past curate of youth, died together.”

‘He fought for justice’

Jean Jacques Lumumba is Patrice Lumumba’s nephew and an activistic committed to the combat against corruption successful the country.

The 38-year-old grew up successful Kinshasa, raised by Lumumba’s parent and younger brother, but was forced into exile successful 2016 for calling retired corruption successful the entourage of erstwhile Congolese president Joseph Kabila.

For him, his uncle remains a awesome of a just and amended Congo, and idiosyncratic helium draws inspiration from successful his ain activism.

“In my family, they archer maine helium was an atypical personality. He was rather frank and direct. He had a consciousness of honour and the hunt for information from an aboriginal property close up to his governmental struggle,” Jean Jacques told Al Jazeera.

“He fought for justness and fairness. He himself refused corruption,” helium added, calling corruption “one of the evils that characterise processing countries”.

“[Patrice Lumumba] wanted wellbeing and improvement … This is inspiring successful the combat I proceed to wage, for the emergence of the African continent.”

Jean Jacques feels Lumumba nary longer belongs conscionable to the DRC and Africa, but to each those who tendency state and dignity astir the world.

Picketers carrying anti-Belgian and pro-Lumumba placards parade connected New York’s West 51st Street extracurricular The Associated Press Building connected February 11, 1961, aft Lumumba was killed but quality of his decease had not yet been released [File: Jacob Harris/AP Photo]

Although helium ne'er met his uncle, helium is pleased that his representation and bequest proceed to unrecorded on.

And though helium came to a tragic and devastating end, for Jean Jacques, Lumumba’s demise is besides thing that has immortalised his sanction and the battles helium waged.

African leaders should honour the representation of radical similar him and others who paid with their lives to physique a “developed, radiant and prosperous Africa, acceptable to asseverate itself successful the performance of nations”, the younger Lumumba said.

Lumumba’s ‘eternal’ legacy

More than six decades aft Lumumba was killed, the DRC is successful the midst of aggregate crises – from equipped rebellions to assets extraction and poverty.

Although it is simply a state of immense earthy wealth, it has not recovered its mode to the bulk of Congolese radical – thing galore successful the state property to the continued exploitation by interior and outer forces.

Daniel Makasi, a nonmigratory of Goma, believes that the colonialism Lumumba was truthful determined to fight, is inactive going beardown – though it manifests successful antithetic ways today.

“Today, determination are respective forms of colonisation that proceed done the multinationals that exploit resources successful the DRC and that bash not payment mean citizens,” helium told Al Jazeera.

He added that Africans request to transmission the tone of Lumumba to halt specified neo-colonialism arsenic acold arsenic possible, truthful they tin bask the fullness of their earthy wealth.

Lumumba was capable to alteration the state successful a abbreviated abstraction of time, making Congolese “prouder”, and that makes him “eternal”, Makasi said, urging radical to travel his example.

Others besides hold that aboriginal generations beryllium Lumumba an “immeasurable” indebtedness for what helium started.

“For me, Patrice Emery Lumumba is simply a awesome of absorption to imperialist forces,” said Moise Komayombi, different Goma resident, remembering the June 1960 Independence Day code that the Belgians considered a “vicious attack” but that inspires galore Africans to this day.

“He inspired america to stay nationalists and support our homeland against each forms of colonisation,” Komayombi said, reminding himself that Lumumba’s enactment is inactive not done.