Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Émery LumumbaTemplate:Efn (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;<ref>Template:Cite dictionary</ref> born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa;Template:Sfn 2 July 1925Template:Snd17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. He was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis. After a coup, Lumumba attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu state called the Free Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was captured en route by state authorities under Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, sent to the State of Katanga and, with the help of Belgian mercenaries, tortured and executed by the separatist Katangan authorities of Moïse Tshombe. In 2002, Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution, admitting "moral responsibility", and in 2022, they returned Lumumba’s tooth to his family. He is seen as a martyr for the pan-African movement.

Early life and career

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Photograph of Lumumba, Template:Circa

Patrice Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 as Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa to Julienne Wamato Lomendja and her husband, François Tolenga Otetshima, a farmer, in Onalua, in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He was a member of the Tetela ethnic group, where he was referred to with the name Élias Okit'Asombo.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn His original surname means "heir of the cursed" and is derived from the Tetela words Template:Lang/Template:Lang ('heir', 'successor')Template:Sfn and Template:Lang ('cursed or bewitched people who will die quickly').Template:Sfn He had three brothers (Charles Lokolonga, Émile Kalema, and Louis Onema Pene Lumumba) and one half-brother (Jean Tolenga).Template:Sfn Raised in a Catholic family, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally the government post office training school, where he passed the one-year course with distinction. He was known for being a vocal, precocious young man, regularly pointing out the errors of his teachers in front of his peers.Template:Sfn This outspoken nature would come to define his life and career. Lumumba spoke Tetela, French, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba.Template:Sfn

Outside of his regular studies, Lumumba took an interest in the Enlightenment ideals of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. He was also fond of Molière and Victor Hugo. He wrote poetry, and many of his works had anti-imperialist themes.<ref name="rus">Template:Cite web</ref> He worked as a travelling beer salesman in Léopoldville and as a postal clerk in Stanleyville for eleven years.<ref name="Struggle">Template:Cite news</ref> Lumumba was married three times. He married Henriette Maletaua a year after arriving in Stanleyville; they divorced in 1947. In the same year, he married Hortense Sombosia, but this relationship also fell apart. He began an affair with Pauline Kie. While he had no children with his first two wives, his relationship with Kie resulted in a son, François Lumumba. Though he remained close with Kie until his death, Lumumba ultimately ended their affair to marry Pauline Opangu in 1951.Template:Sfn

In the period following World War II, young leaders across Africa increasingly worked for national goals and independence from the colonial powers.<ref name="Struggle" /> In 1952 he was hired to work as a personal assistant for French sociologist Pierre Clément, who was performing a study of Stanleyville.Template:Sfn That year he also co-founded and subsequently became president of a Stanleyville chapter of the Association des Anciens élèves des pères de Scheut (ADAPÉS), an alumni association for former students at Scheut schools, despite the fact that he had never attended one.Template:Sfn In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium. He edited and distributed party literature. Between 1956 and 1957 he wrote his autobiography (which was published posthumously in 1962).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Unreliable source? After a study tour in Belgium in 1956, he was arrested on charges of embezzlement of $2500<ref name="Struggle" /> from the post office. He was convicted and sentenced one year later to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine.<ref name="britannica">Template:Britannica</ref>

Leader of the MNC

File:Patrice Lumumba in 1958.jpg

Lumumba in 1958

After his release, Lumumba helped found the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party in 1958 and quickly became the organisation's leader.<ref name= rus/> The MNC, unlike other Congolese parties developing at the time, did not draw on a particular ethnic base.Template:Sfn It promoted a platform that included independence, gradual Africanisation of the government, state-led economic development, and neutrality in foreign affairs. Lumumba had a large popular followingTemplate:Sfn and as a result, he had more political autonomy than contemporaries who were more dependent on Belgian connections.Template:Sfn Lumumba was one of the delegates who represented the MNC at the All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958. At this international conference, hosted by Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah, Lumumba further solidified his pan-Africanist credentials. Nkrumah was personally impressed by Lumumba's intelligence and ability.Template:Sfn

In 1959, the MNC split into the majority MNC-L, led by Lumumba, and the more radical and federalist MNC-K. In late October 1959, Lumumba, as leader of the MNC, was arrested for inciting an anti-colonial riot in Stanleyville during which 30 people were killed. He was sentenced to six months in prison. The trial's start date of 18 January 1960 was the first day of the Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels, intended to make a plan for the future of the Congo. Despite Lumumba's imprisonment, the MNC won a convincing majority in the December local elections in the Congo. As a result of strong pressure from delegates upset by Lumumba's trial, he was released and allowed to attend the Brussels conference.Template:Citation needed

Independence and election as prime minister

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Lumumba pictured in Brussels at the Round Table Conference with other members of the MNC-L delegation, 26 January 1960

The conference culminated on 27 January 1960 with a declaration of Congolese independence. It set 30 June 1960 as the independence date with national elections to be held from 11 to 25 May 1960. The MNC won a plurality in the election. Six weeks before the date of independence, Walter Ganshof van der Meersch was appointed as the Belgian Minister of African Affairs. He lived in Léopoldville, in effect becoming Belgium's de facto resident minister in the Congo, administering it jointly with Governor-general Hendrik Cornelis.Template:Sfn He was charged with advising King Baudouin on the selection of a Template:Lang.Template:Sfn

On 8 June 1960, Ganshof flew to Brussels to meet with Baudouin. He made three suggestions for Template:Lang: Lumumba, as the winner of the elections; Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the only figure with a reliable national reputation who was associated with the coalescing opposition; or some to-be-determined third individual who could unite the competing blocs.Template:Sfn Ganshof returned to the Congo on 12 June 1960. The following day he appointed Lumumba to serve as the delegate (Template:Lang) tasked with investigating the possibility of forming a national unity government that included politicians with a wide range of views, with 16 June 1960 as his deadline.Template:Sfn

The same day as Lumumba's appointment, the parliamentary opposition coalition, the Template:Lang, was announced.Template:Sfn Though Kasa-Vubu was aligned with their beliefs, he remained distanced from them. The MNC-L was also having trouble securing the allegiances of the PSA, CEREA (Template:Lang), and BALUBAKAT (Template:Lang).Template:Sfn Initially, Lumumba was unable to establish contact with members of the cartel. Eventually several leaders were appointed to meet with him, but their positions remained entrenched. On 16 June 1960, Lumumba reported his difficulties to Ganshof, who extended the deadline and promised to act as an intermediary between the MNC-L leader and the opposition.Template:Sfn Once Ganshof had made contact with the cartel leadership, he was impressed by their obstinacy and assurances of a strong anti-Lumumba polity. By evening, Lumumba's mission was showing even less chance of succeeding. Ganshof considered extending the role of Template:Lang to Cyrille Adoula and Kasa-Vubu, but faced increasing pressure from Belgian and moderate Congolese advisers to end Lumumba's assignment.Template:Sfn

The following day, on 17 June 1960, Ganshof declared that Lumumba had failed and terminated his mission.Template:Sfn Acting on Ganshof's advice, Baudouin then named Kasa-Vubu Template:Lang.Template:Sfn Lumumba responded by threatening to form his own government and present it to parliament without official approval.Template:Sfn He called a meeting at the OK Bar in Léopoldville, where he announced the creation of a "popular" government with the support of Pierre Mulele of the PSA. Meanwhile, Kasa-Vubu, like Lumumba, was unable to communicate with his political opponents.Template:Sfn

He assumed that he would secure the presidency, so he began looking for someone to serve as his prime minister. Most of the candidates he considered were friends who had foreign support similar to his own, including Albert Kalonji, Joseph Iléo, Cyrille Adoula, and Justin Bomboko. Kasa-Vubu was slow to come to a final decision.Template:Sfn On 18 June 1960, Kasa-Vubu announced that he had completed his government with all parties except the MNC-L. That afternoon Jason Sendwe, Antoine Gizenga, and Anicet Kashamura announced in the presence of Lumumba that their respective parties were not committed to the government. The next day, on 19 June 1960, Ganshof summoned Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba to a meeting so they could forge a compromise. This failed when Lumumba flatly refused the position of prime minister in a Kasa-Vubu government.Template:Sfn

The following day, on 20 June 1960, the two rivals met in the presence of Adoula and diplomats from Israel and Ghana, but no agreement was reached.Template:Sfn Most party leaders refused to support a government that did not include Lumumba.Template:Sfn The decision to make Kasa-Vubu the Template:Lang was a catalyst that rallied the PSA, CEREA, and BALUBAKAT to Lumumba, making it unlikely that Kasa-Vubu could form a government that would survive a vote of confidence. When the chamber met, on 21 June 1960, to select its officers, Joseph Kasongo of the MNC-L was elected president with 74 votes (a majority), while the two vice presidencies were secured by the PSA and CEREA candidates, both of whom had the support of Lumumba.Template:Sfn With time running out before independence, Baudouin took new advice from Ganshof and appointed Lumumba as Template:Lang.Template:Sfn

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Lumumba (left centre) poses with his government outside the Template:Lang immediately following its investiture.

Once it was apparent that Lumumba's bloc controlled parliament, several members of the opposition became eager to negotiate for a coalition government in order to share power.Template:Sfn By 22 June 1960, Lumumba had a government list, but negotiations continued with Jean Bolikango, Albert Delvaux, and Kasa-Vubu. Lumumba reportedly offered the Alliance of Bakongo (ABAKO) the ministerial positions for foreign affairs and middle classes, but Kasa-Vubu instead demanded the ministry of finance, a minister of state, the secretary of state for the interior, and a written pledge of support from the MNC-L and its allies for his presidential candidacy.Template:Sfn Kalonji was presented with the agriculture portfolio by Lumumba, which he rejected, although he was suitable due to his experience as an agricultural engineer.Template:Sfn Adoula was also offered a ministerial position, but refused to accept it.Template:Sfn

By the morning of 23 June 1960, the government was, in the words of Lumumba, "practically formed". At noon, he made a counter-offer to Kasa-Vubu, who instead responded with a letter demanding the creation of a seventh province for the Bakongo. Lumumba refused to comply and instead pledged to support Jean Bolikango in his bid for the presidency.Template:Sfn At 14:45, Lumumba presented his proposed government before the press. Neither the ABAKO nor the MNC-Kalonji (MNC-K) were represented among the ministers, and the only PSA members were from Gizenga's wing of the party. The Bakongo of Léopoldville were deeply upset by their exclusion from Lumumba's cabinet. They subsequently demanded the removal of the PSA-dominated provincial government and called for a general strike to begin the following morning. At 16:00, Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu resumed negotiations. Kasa-Vubu eventually agreed to Lumumba's earlier offer, though Lumumba informed him that he could not give him a guarantee of support in his presidential candidacy.Template:Sfn

The resulting 37-strong Lumumba government was very diverse, with its members coming from different classes, different tribes, and holding varied political beliefs.Template:Sfn Though many had questionable loyalty to Lumumba, most did not openly contradict him out of political considerations or fear of reprisal.Template:Sfn At 22:40 on 23 June 1960, the Chamber of Deputies convened in the Template:Lang to vote on Lumumba's government. After Kasongo opened the session, Lumumba delivered his main speech,Template:Sfn promising to maintain national unity, abide by the will of the people, and pursue a neutralist foreign policy.Template:Sfn It was warmly received by most deputies and observers.Template:Sfn

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Lumumba waving to supporters, Template:Circa

The chamber proceeded to engage in a heated debate.Template:Sfn Though the government contained members from parties that held 120 of the 137 seats, reaching a majority was not a straightforward task. While several leaders of the opposition had been involved in the formative negotiations, their parties as a whole had not been consulted. Furthermore, some individuals were upset they had not been included in the government and sought to personally prevent its investiture.Template:Sfn In the subsequent arguments, multiple deputies expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of representation of their respective provinces and/or parties, with several threatening secession. Among them was Kalonji, who said he would encourage people of Kasaï to refrain from participating in the central government and form their own autonomous state. One Katangese deputy objected to the same person being appointed as premier and as head of the defence portfolio.Template:Sfn

When a vote was finally taken, only 80 of the 137 members of the chamber were present. Of these, 74 voted in favour of the government, five against, and one abstained. The 57 absences were almost all voluntary. Though the government had earned just as many votes as when Kasongo won the presidency of the chamber, the support was not congruent; members of Cléophas Kamitatu's wing of the PSA had voted against the government while a few members of the PNP, PUNA, and ABAKO voted in favour of it. Overall, the vote was a disappointment for the MNC-L coalition.Template:Sfn

The session was adjourned at 02:05 on 24 June 1960.Template:Sfn The senate convened that day to vote on the government. There was another heated debate, in which Iléo and Adoula expressed their strong dissatisfaction with its composition.Template:Sfn Confederation of Tribal Associations of Katanga (CONAKAT) members abstained from voting. When arguments concluded, a decisive vote of approval was taken on the government: 60 voted in favour, 12 against, while eight abstained. All dissident arguments for alternative cabinets, particularly Kalonji's demand for a new administration, were rendered impotent, and the Lumumba government was officially invested.Template:Sfn With the institution of a broad coalition, the parliamentary opposition was officially reduced to only the MNC-K and some individuals.Template:Sfn

At the onset of his premiership, Lumumba had two main goals: to ensure that independence would bring a legitimate improvement in the quality of life for the Congolese and to unify the country as a centralised state by eliminating tribalism and regionalism.Template:Sfn He was worried that opposition to his government would appear rapidly and would have to be managed quickly and decisively.Template:Sfn

To achieve the first aim, Lumumba believed that a comprehensive "Africanisation" of the administration, in spite of its risks, would be necessary.Template:Sfn The Belgians were opposed to such an idea, as it would create inefficiency in the Congo's bureaucracy and lead to a mass exodus of unemployed civil servants to Belgium, whom they would be unable to absorb into the government there.Template:Sfn It was too late for Lumumba to enact Africanisation before independence. Seeking another gesture that might excite the Congolese people, Lumumba proposed to the Belgian government a reduction in sentences for all prisoners and an amnesty for those serving a term of three years or less. Ganshof feared that such an action would jeopardise law and order, and he evaded taking any action until it was too late to fulfill the request. Lumumba's opinion of the Belgians was soured by this affair, which contributed to his fear that independence would not appear "real" to the average Congolese.Template:Sfn

In seeking to eliminate tribalism and regionalism in the Congo, Lumumba was deeply inspired by the personality and undertakings of Kwame Nkrumah and by Ghanaian ideas of the leadership necessary in post-colonial Africa. He worked to seek such changes through the MNC. Lumumba intended to combine it with its parliamentary allies—CEREA, the PSA, and possibly BALUBAKAT—to form one national party, and to build a following in each province. He hoped it would absorb other parties and become a unifying force for the country.Template:Sfn

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The independence ceremony for the Congo, held on 30 June 1960, at which Lumumba delivered his independence speech

Independence Day was celebrated on 30 June 1960 in a ceremony attended by many dignitaries, including King Baudouin of Belgium and the foreign press.<ref name="speech">Template:Cite webfr,nl Template:Webarchive</ref> Baudouin's speech praised developments under colonialism, his reference to the "genius" of his great-granduncle Leopold II of Belgium, glossing over atrocities committed during his reign over the Congo Free State.Template:Sfn The King continued, "Don't compromise the future with hasty reforms, and don't replace the structures that Belgium hands over to you until you are sure you can do better. Don't be afraid to come to us. We will remain by your side, give you advice."Template:Sfn

Lumumba, who had not been scheduled to speak, delivered an impromptu speech that reminded the audience that the independence of the Congo had not been granted magnanimously by Belgium:<ref name="speech"/>

Most European journalists were shocked by the stridency of Lumumba's speech.Template:Sfn The Western media criticised him. Time magazine characterised his speech as a "vicious attack".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Prime minister

Independence

Independence Day and the three days that followed it were declared a national holiday.Template:Sfn The Congolese were preoccupied by the festivities, which were conducted in relative peace.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, Lumumba's office was overtaken by a flurry of activity. A diverse group of individuals, Congolese and European, some friends and relatives, hurried about their work. Some undertook specific missions on his behalf, sometimes without direct permission.Template:Sfn Numerous Congolese citizens showed up at the office at whim for various reasons.Template:Sfn Lumumba, for his part, was mostly preoccupied with a lengthy itinerary of receptions and ceremonies.Template:Sfn On 3 July Lumumba declared a general amnesty for prisoners, but it was never implemented.Template:Sfn The following morning he convened the Council of Ministers to discuss the unrest among the troops of the Force Publique.Template:Sfn

Many soldiers hoped that independence would result in immediate promotions and material gains, but were disappointed by Lumumba's slow pace of reform. The rank-and-file felt that the Congolese political class—particularly ministers in the new government—were enriching themselves while failing to improve the troops' situation. Many of the soldiers were also fatigued from maintaining order during the elections and participating in independence celebrations.Template:Sfn The ministers decided to establish four committees to study, respectively, the reorganisation of the administration, the judiciary, and the army, and the enacting of a new statute for state employees. All were to devote special attention to ending racial discrimination.Template:Sfn Parliament assembled for the first time since independence and took its first official legislative action by voting to increase the salaries of its members to FC 500,000. Lumumba, fearing the repercussions the raise would have on the budget, was among the few to object, dubbing it a "ruinous folly".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Outbreak of the Congo Crisis

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Official portrait of Lumumba as prime minister of the Republic of the Congo, 1960

On the morning of 5 July 1960, General Émile Janssens, commander of the Force Publique, in response to increasing excitement among the Congolese ranks, summoned all troops on duty at Camp Léopold II. He demanded that the army maintain its discipline and wrote "before independence = after independence" on a blackboard for emphasis. That evening the Congolese sacked the canteen in protest of Janssens. He alerted the reserve garrison of Camp Hardy, 95 miles away in Thysville. The officers tried to organise a convoy to send to Camp Léopold II to restore order, but the men mutinied and seized the armoury.Template:Sfn The crisis which followed came to dominate the tenure of the Lumumba government.Template:Sfn The next day Lumumba dismissed Janssens and promoted all Congolese soldiers one grade, but mutinies spread out into the Lower Congo.Template:Sfn

Although the trouble was highly localised, the country seemed to be overrun by gangs of soldiers and looters.Template:Clarify The media reported that Europeans were fleeing the country.Template:SfnTemplate:Page needed In response, Lumumba announced over the radio, "Thoroughgoing reforms are planned in all sectors. My government will make every possible effort to see that our country has a different face in a few months, a few weeks." In spite of government efforts, the mutinies continued.<ref name="washington" /> Mutineers in Leopoldville and Thysville surrendered only upon the personal intervention of Lumumba and President Kasa-Vubu.Template:Sfn

On 8 July, Lumumba renamed the Force Publique as the Template:Lang (ANC). He Africanised the force by appointing Sergeant Major Victor Lundula as general and commander-in-chief, and chose junior minister and former soldier Joseph Mobutu as colonel and Army chief of staff. These promotions were made in spite of Lundula's inexperience and rumours about Mobutu's ties to Belgian and US intelligence services.Template:Sfn All European officers in the army were replaced with Africans, with a few retained as advisers. By the next day the mutinies had spread throughout the entire country.Template:Sfn Five Europeans, including the Italian vice-consul, were ambushed and killed by machine gun fire in Élisabethville, and nearly the entire European population of Luluabourg barricaded itself in an office building for safety.Template:Sfn An estimated two dozen Europeans were murdered in the mutiny.Template:Sfn Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu embarked on a tour across the country to promote peace and appoint new army commanders.Template:Sfn

Belgium intervened on 10 July, dispatching 6,000 troops to the Congo, ostensibly to protect its citizens from the violence. Most Europeans went to Katanga Province, which possessed much of the Congo's natural resources.<ref name= britannica /> Though personally angered, Lumumba condoned the action on 11 July, provided that the Belgian forces acted only to protect their citizens, followed the direction of the Congolese armed forces, and ceased their activities once order was restored.<ref name="washington">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The same day the Belgian Navy bombarded Matadi after it had evacuated its citizens, killing 19 Congolese civilians. This greatly inflamed tensions, leading to renewed Congolese attacks on Europeans. Shortly thereafter Belgian forces moved to occupy cities throughout the country, including the capital, where they clashed with Congolese soldiers.Template:SfnTemplate:Additional citations needed On the whole, the Belgian intervention made the situation worse for the armed forces.Template:Sfn

The State of Katanga declared independence under regional premier Moïse Tshombe on 11 July, with support from the Belgian government and mining companies such as Union Minière.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu were denied use of Élisabethville's airstrip the following day and returned to the capital, only to be accosted by fleeing Belgians.Template:Sfn They sent a protest of the Belgian deployment to the United Nations, requesting that they withdraw and be replaced by an international peacekeeping force. The UN Security Council passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 143, calling for immediate removal of Belgian forces and establishment of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC). Despite the arrival of UN troops, unrest continued. Lumumba requested UN troops to suppress the rebellion in Katanga, but the UN forces were not authorised to do so under their mandate. On 14 July Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu broke off diplomatic relations with Belgium. Frustrated at dealing with the West, they sent a telegram to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, requesting that he closely monitor the situation in the Congo.Template:Sfn

Visit to the United States

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Lumumba arriving in New York City, 24 July 1960

Lumumba decided to travel to New York City in order to personally express the position of his government to the United Nations.Template:Sfn Shortly before his departure, he announced that he had signed an economic agreement with a U.S. businessman who had created the Congo International Management Corporation (CIMCO). According to the contract (which had yet to be ratified by parliament), CIMCO was to form a development corporation to invest in and manage certain sectors of the economy.Template:Efn He also declared his approval of the second security council resolution, adding that "[Soviet] aid was no longer necessary"Template:Sfn and announced his intention to seek technical assistance from the United States.Template:Sfn On 22 July Lumumba left the Congo for New York City.Template:Efn He and his entourage reached the United States two days later after brief stops in Accra and London.Template:Sfn There they rendezvoused with his UN delegation at the Barclay Hotel to prepare for meetings with UN officials. Lumumba was focused on discussing the withdrawal of Belgian troops and various options for technical assistance with Dag Hammarskjöld.Template:Sfn

African diplomats were keen that the meetings would be successful; they convinced Lumumba to wait until the Congo was more stable before reaching any more major economic agreements (such as the CIMCO arrangement). Lumumba saw Hammarskjöld and other staff of the UN Secretariat over three days on 24, 25, and 26 July. Though Lumumba and Hammarskjöld were restrained towards one another, their discussions went smoothly. In a press conference, Lumumba reaffirmed his government's commitment to "positive neutralism".Template:Sfn

On 27 July, Lumumba went to Washington, D.C. to meet with the US Secretary of State and appeal for financial and technical assistance. The US government informed Lumumba that they would offer aid only through the UN. The following day he received a telegram from Gizenga detailing a clash at Kolwezi between Belgian and Congolese forces. Lumumba felt that the UN was hampering his attempts to expel the Belgian troops and defeat the Katangan rebels. On 29 July, Lumumba went to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to request help. The Canadians rebuffed a request for technicians and said that they would channel their assistance through the UN. Frustrated, Lumumba met with the Soviet ambassador in Ottawa and discussed a donation of military equipment. When he returned to New York the following evening, he was restrained towards the UN. The United States government's attitude had become more negative, due to reports of the rapes and violence committed by ANC soldiers, and scrutiny from Belgium.Template:Citation needed The latter was chagrined that Lumumba had received a high-level reception in Washington.Template:Sfn The Belgian government regarded Lumumba as communist, anti-white, and anti-Western. Given its experience in the Congo, many other Western governments gave credence to the Belgian view.Template:Sfn

Frustrated with the UN's apparent inaction towards Katanga as he departed the US, Lumumba decided to delay his return to the Congo. He visited several African states. This was apparently done to put pressure on Hammarskjöld and, failing that, to seek guarantees of bilateral military support to suppress Katanga. Between 2 and 8 August, Lumumba toured Tunisia, Morocco, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, and Togo. He was well received in each country and issued joint communiques with their respective heads of state.Template:Sfn Guinea and Ghana pledged independent military support, while the others expressed their desire to work through the United Nations to resolve the Katangan secession.Template:Sfn In Ghana, Lumumba signed a secret agreement with President Nkrumah providing for a "Union of African States". Centred in Léopoldville, it was to be a federation with a republican government.Template:Sfn They agreed to hold a summit of African states in Léopoldville between 25 and 30 August to further discuss the issue. Lumumba returned to the Congo, apparently confident that he could now depend upon African military assistance.Template:Sfn He also believed that he could procure African bilateral technical aid, which placed him at odds with Hammarskjöld's goal of funnelling support through ONUC. Lumumba and some ministers were wary of the UN option, as it would supply them with functionaries who would not respond directly to their authority.Template:Sfn

Attempts at re-consolidation

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Map of the Congo in 1961, with South Kasai highlighted in red, bordered to the south by the State of Katanga

On 9 August, Lumumba proclaimed a state of emergency throughout the Congo.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn He subsequently issued several orders in an attempt to reassert his dominance on the political scene. The first outlawed the formation of associations without government sanction. A second asserted the government's right to ban publications that produced material likely to bring the administration into disrepute. On 11 August the Template:Lang printed an editorial which declared that the Congolese did not want to fall "under a second kind of slavery". The editor was summarily arrested and four days later publication of the daily ceased. Shortly afterward, the government shut down the Belga and Agence France-Presse wire services.Template:Sfn The press restrictions garnered a wave of harsh criticism from the Belgian media.Template:Sfn

Lumumba decreed the nationalisation of local Belga offices, creating the Template:Lang,Template:Sfn as a means of eliminating what he considered a centre of biased reporting, as well as creating a service through which the government's platform could be more easily communicated to the public.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Another order stipulated that official approval had to be obtained six days in advance of public gatherings.Template:Sfn On 16 August Lumumba announced the installation of a Template:Lang for the duration of six months.Template:Sfn

Throughout August, Lumumba increasingly withdrew from his full cabinet and instead consulted with officials and ministers he trusted, such as Maurice Mpolo, Joseph Mbuyi, Kashamura, Gizenga, and Antoine Kiwewa.Template:Sfn Lumumba's office was in disarray, and few members of his staff did any work.Template:Sfn His Template:Lang, Damien Kandolo, was often absent and acted as a spy on behalf of the Belgian government.Template:Sfn Lumumba was constantly being delivered rumours from informants and the Template:Lang, encouraging him to grow deeply suspicious of others.Template:Sfn In an attempt to keep him informed, Serge Michel, his press secretary, enlisted the assistance of three Belgian telex operators, who supplied him with copies of all outgoing journalistic dispatches.Template:Sfn

Lumumba immediately ordered Congolese troops to put down the rebellion in secessionist South Kasai, which was home to strategic rail links necessary for a campaign in Katanga. The operation was successful, but the conflict soon devolved into ethnic violence. The army became involved in massacres of Luba civilians. The people and politicians of South Kasai held Lumumba personally responsible for the actions of the army. Kasa-Vubu publicly announced that only a federalist government could bring peace and stability to the Congo. This broke his tenuous political alliance with Lumumba and tilted the political favour in the country away from Lumumba's unitary state.Template:Sfn Ethnic tensions rose against him (especially around Leopoldville), and the Catholic Church, still powerful in the country, openly criticised his government.Template:Sfn Even with South Kasai subdued, the Congo lacked the necessary strength to retake Katanga. Lumumba had summoned an African conference in Leopoldville from 25 to 31 August, but no foreign heads of state appeared and no country pledged military support.Template:Sfn Lumumba demanded once again that UN peacekeeping soldiers assist in suppressing the revolt, threatening to bring in Soviet troops if they refused. The UN subsequently denied Lumumba the use of its forces. The possibility of a direct Soviet intervention was thought increasingly likely.Template:Citation needed

Dismissal

Kasa-Vubu's revocation order

File:Kasa-Vubu in Bandalungwa.jpg

President Joseph Kasa-Vubu, Template:Circa

President Kasa-Vubu began fearing a Lumumbist coup d'état would take place.Template:Efn On the evening of 5 September, Kasa-Vubu announced over radio that he had dismissed Lumumba and six of his ministers from the government for the massacres in South Kasai and for involving the Soviets in the Congo.Template:Sfn Upon hearing the broadcast, Lumumba went to the national radio station, which was under UN guard. Though they had been ordered to bar Lumumba's entry, the UN troops allowed the prime minister in, as they had no specific instructions to use force against him. Lumumba denounced his dismissal over the radio as illegitimate, and in turn labelled Kasa-Vubu a traitor and declared him deposed.Template:Sfn Kasa-Vubu had not declared the approval of any responsible ministers of his decision, making his action legally invalid.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Lumumba noted this in a letter to Hammarskjöld and a radio broadcast at 05:30 on 6 September. Later that day Kasa-Vubu managed to secure the countersignatures to his order of Albert Delvaux, Minister Resident in Belgium, and Justin Marie Bomboko, Minister of Foreign Affairs. With them, he announced again his dismissal of Lumumba and six other ministers at 16:00 over Brazzaville radio.Template:Sfn

Lumumba and the ministers who remained loyal to him ordered the arrest of Delvaux and Bomboko for countersigning the dismissal order. The latter sought refuge in the presidential palace (which was guarded by UN peacekeepers), but early in the morning on 7 September, the former was detained and confined in the Prime Minister's residence.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Meanwhile, the Chamber of Deputies convened to discuss Kasa-Vubu's dismissal order and hear Lumumba's reply. Delvaux made an unexpected appearance and took to the dais to denounce his arrest and declare his resignation from the government. He was enthusiastically applauded by the opposition. Lumumba then delivered his speech.Template:Sfn Instead of directly attacking Kasa-Vubu ad hominem, Lumumba accused obstructionist politicians and ABAKO of using the presidency as a front for disguising their activities. He noted that Kasa-Vubu had never before offered any criticism of the government and portrayed their relationship as one of cooperation. He lambasted Delvaux and Minister of Finance Pascal Nkayi for their role in the UN Geneva negotiations and for their failure to consult the rest of the government. Lumumba followed his arguments with an analysis of the Loi Fondemental and finished by asking Parliament to assemble a "commission of sages" to examine the Congo's troubles.Template:Sfn

The Chamber, at the suggestion of its presiding officer, voted to annul both Kasa-Vubu's and Lumumba's declarations of dismissal, 60 to 19. The following day Lumumba delivered a similar speech before the Senate, which subsequently delivered the government a vote of confidence, 49 to zero with seven abstentions.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn According to Article 51, Parliament was granted the "exclusive privilege" to interpret the constitution.Template:Sfn In cases of doubt and controversy, the Congolese were originally supposed to appeal constitutional questions to the Belgian Conseil d'État. With the rupture of relations in July this was no longer possible, so no authoritative interpretation or mediation was available to bring a legal resolution to the dispute.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Numerous African diplomats and newly appointed ONUC head Rajeshwar Dayal attempted to get the president and prime minister to reconcile their differences, but failed.Template:Sfn On 13 September, the Parliament held a joint session between the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Though several members short of a quorum, they voted to grant Lumumba emergency powers.Template:Sfn

Mobutu's coup

File:Colonel Mobutu.jpg

Colonel Mobutu, Template:Circa

On 14 September Mobutu announced over the radio that he was launching a "peaceful revolution" to break the political impasse and therefore neutralising the President, Lumumba's and Iléo's respective governments, and Parliament until 31 December. He stated that "technicians" would run the administration while the politicians sorted out their differences. In a subsequent press conference, he clarified that Congolese university graduates would be asked to form a government, and further declared that all Eastern Bloc countries should close their embassies. Lumumba was surprised by the coupTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn and that evening he travelled to Camp Leopold II in search of Mobutu to try and change his mind. He spent the night there but was attacked in the morning by Luba soldiers, who blamed him for the atrocities in South Kasaï. A Ghanaian ONUC contingent managed to extricate him, but his briefcase was left behind. Some of his political opponents recovered it and published documents it supposedly contained, including letters from Nkrumah, appeals for support addressed to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, a memorandum dated 16 September declaring the presence of Soviet troops within one week, and a letter dated 15 September from Lumumba to the provincial presidents (Tshombe excepted) entitled "Measures to be applied during the first stages of the dictatorship". Some of these papers were genuine, while others, especially the memorandum and the letter to the provincial presidents, were almost certainly forgeries.Template:Sfn

Despite the coup, African diplomats still worked towards a reconciliation between Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu. According to the Ghanaians, a verbal agreement of principle concerning closer co-operation between the Head of State and the government was put into writing. Lumumba signed it, but Kasa-Vubu suddenly refused to reciprocate. The Ghanaians suspected that Belgium and the United States were responsible. Kasa-Vubu was eager to re-integrate Katanga back into the Congo through negotiation, and Tshombe had declared that he would not participate in any discussions with a government that included the "communist" Lumumba.Template:Sfn

After consultation with Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba, Mobutu announced that he would summon a round table conference to discuss the political future of the Congo. His attempts to follow through were disrupted by Lumumba who, from his official residence, was acting as though he still held the premiership. He continued to hold meetings with members of his government, senators, deputies, and political supporters, and to issue public statements. On numerous occasions he left his residence to tour the restaurants of the capital, maintaining that he still held power.Template:Sfn Frustrated by the way he was being treated by Lumumba and facing intense political pressure, by the end of the month Mobutu was no longer encouraging reconciliation; he had aligned with Kasa-Vubu.Template:Sfn He ordered ANC units to surround Lumumba's residence, but a cordon of UN peacekeepers prevented them from making an arrest. Lumumba was confined to his home.Template:Sfn On 7 October Lumumba announced the formation of a new government that included Bolikango and Kalonji, but he later proposed that the UN supervise a national referendum that would settle the split in the government.Template:Sfn

On 24 November, the UN voted to recognise Mobutu's new delegates to the General Assembly, disregarding Lumumba's original appointees. Lumumba resolved to join Deputy Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga in Stanleyville and lead a campaign to regain power.Template:Sfn On 27 November he left the capital in a convoy of nine cars with Rémy Mwamba, Pierre Mulele, his wife Pauline, and his youngest child. Instead of heading with all haste to the Orientale Province border—where soldiers loyal to Gizenga were waiting to receive him—Lumumba delayed by touring villages and making conversation with the locals. On 1 December Mobutu's troops caught up with his party as it crossed the Sankuru RiverTemplate:Sfn in Lodi.Template:Sfn Lumumba and his advisers had made it to the far side, but his wife and child were left to be captured on the bank. Fearing for their safety, Lumumba took the ferry back, against the advice of Mwamba and Mulele, who both, fearing they would never see him again, bid him farewell. Mobutu's men arrested him.Template:Sfn He was moved to Port Francqui the next day and flown back to Léopoldville.Template:Sfn Mobutu claimed Lumumba would be tried for inciting the army to rebellion and other crimes.

UN response

Hammarskjöld made an appeal to Kasa-Vubu asking that Lumumba be treated according to due process. The Soviet Union denounced Hammarskjöld and the First World as responsible for Lumumba's arrest and demanded his release.

The United Nations Security Council was called into session on 7 December 1960 to consider Soviet demands that the UN seek Lumumba's immediate release, the immediate restoration of Lumumba as head of the Congo government, the disarming of the forces of Mobutu, and the immediate evacuation of Belgians from the Congo. The Soviets also requested the immediate resignation of Hammarskjöld, the arrests of Mobutu and Tshombe, and the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces.<ref name= bbc_1961/> Hammarskjöld, answering Soviet criticism of his Congo operations, said that if the UN forces were withdrawn from the Congo, "I fear everything will crumble."

The threat to the UN cause was intensified by the announcement of the withdrawal of their contingents by Yugoslavia, the United Arab Republic, Ceylon, Indonesia, Morocco, and Guinea. The pro-Lumumba resolution was defeated on 14 December 1960 by a vote of 8–2. On the same day, a Western resolution that would have given Hammarskjöld increased powers to deal with the Congo situation was vetoed by the Soviet Union.

Final days and assassination

File:1960-12-05 Lumumba Seized.ogg

Universal Newsreel covering Lumumba's capture and his arrival under detention in Leopoldville on 2 December 1960 before transport to Thysville

Lumumba was sent first on 3 December 1960 to the Thysville military barracks at Camp Hardy, 150 km (about 100 miles) from Léopoldville. He was accompanied by Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, two political associates who had planned to assist him in setting up a new government. They were fed poorly by the prison guards, as per Mobutu's orders. In Lumumba's last documented letter, he wrote to Rajeshwar Dayal, head of the UN in the Congo: "In a word, we are living amid absolutely impossible conditions; moreover, they are against the law."<ref name= washington/>

On the morning of 13 January 1961, discipline at Camp Hardy faltered. Soldiers refused to work unless they were paid; they received a total of 400,000 francs ($8,000) from the Katanga Cabinet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some supported Lumumba's release, while others thought he was dangerous. Kasa-Vubu, Mobutu, Foreign Minister Justin Marie Bomboko, and Head of Security Services Victor Nendaka Bika personally arrived at the camp and negotiated with the troops. Conflict was avoided, but it became apparent that holding a controversial prisoner in the camp was too great a risk.Template:Sfn Harold Charles d'Aspremont Lynden, the last Belgian Minister of the Colonies, ordered that Lumumba, Mpolo, and Okito be taken to the State of Katanga.Template:Sfn

Lumumba was forcibly restrained on the flight to Elisabethville on 17 January 1961.<ref>Template:Cite news 00.35.38–00.35.49.</ref> On arrival, his associates and he were conducted under arrest to the Brouwez House, where they were brutally beaten and tortured by Katangan officers,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while Tshombe and his cabinet decided what to do with him.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Later that night, Lumumba, Mpolo, and Okito were driven to an isolated spot where three firing squads had been assembled that were commanded by Belgian contract officer Julien Gat.<ref name="brusselstimes_20180911">Template:Cite web</ref> The orders to murder Lumumba were given by Katangan leaders. The last stage of the execution was personally undertaken by the Belgian contracts led by Police Commissioner Frans Verscheure.<ref name="brusselstimes_20180911" /> Lumumba, Mpolo, and Okito were put up against a tree and shot one at a time. The execution is thought to have taken place on 17 January 1961, between 21:40 and 21:43 according to a later Belgian parliamentary inquiry. Tshombe, two other ministers, and four Belgian officers under the command of the Katangan authorities were present.<ref name="brusselstimes_20180911"/> The bodies were thrown into a shallow grave.

The following morning, on orders of Katangan Interior Minister Godefroid Munongo, who wanted to make the bodies disappear and prevent a burial site from being created, Belgian Gendarmerie officer Gerard Soete and his team dug up and dismembered the corpses, and dissolved them in sulfuric acid while the bones were ground and scattered.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Lumumba's assassination allowed the governments of Belgium, the U.S., and reportedly the United Kingdom, to abandon their own assassination plans. Allen Dulles, then the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) supported assassinating Lumumba, reportedly as he had heard Eisenhower wishing that Lumumba "fall into a river full of crocodiles." Eisenhower's involvement in the CIA's assassination plans remains speculative.Template:Sfn

Announcement of death

File:Protestno zborovanje v Mariboru ob umoru kongovskega predsednika Patricea Lumumbe 1961 (3).jpg

Young protesters in Maribor, Yugoslavia, against the death of Lumumba, 1961

No statement was released until three weeks later, despite rumours that Lumumba was dead. Katangan Secretary of State of Information Lucas Samalenge was one of the first people to reveal Lumumba's death, on 18 January. According to De Witte, Samalenge went to the bar Le Relais in Élisabethville and "told everyone willing to listen that Lumumba was dead and that he had kicked his corpse. He went around repeating the story until the police took him away."Template:Sfn

On 10 February, the radio announced that Lumumba and two other prisoners had escaped.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His death was formally announced over Katangan radio on 13 February: it was alleged that he was killed by enraged villagers three days after escaping from Kolatey prison farm.<ref name="bbc_1961">Template:Cite news</ref>

After the announcement of Lumumba's death, street protests were organised in several European countries; in Belgrade, protesters sacked the Belgian embassy and confronted the police, and in London, a crowd marched from Trafalgar Square to the Belgian embassy, where a letter of protest was delivered and where protesters clashed with police.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In New York City, a demonstration at the United Nations Security Council turned violent and spilled over into the streets.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Foreign involvement in his execution

The ongoing Cold War affected both Belgium and the United States' perception of Lumumba, as they feared he was increasingly subject to communist influence due to his appeals for Soviet aid. However, according to journalist Sean Kelly, who covered the events as a correspondent for the Voice of America, Lumumba did this not because he was a communist, but because he felt that the Soviet Union was the only power which would support his government's effort to defeat Belgian-supported separatists and rid itself of colonial influence.Template:Sfn The US was the first country from which Lumumba requested help.Template:Sfn Lumumba, for his part, denied being a communist, stating that he found colonialism and communism to be equally deplorable, and publicly professed his personal preference for neutrality between the East and West.Template:Sfn

Belgian involvement

On 18 January, panicked by reports that the burial of the three bodies had been observed, members of the execution team dug up the remains and moved them for reburial to a place near the border with Northern Rhodesia. Belgian Police Commissioner Gerard Soete later admitted in several accounts that he and his brother led the original exhumation. Police Commissioner Frans Verscheure also took part. On the afternoon and evening of 21 January, Commissioner Soete and his brother dug up Lumumba's corpse for a second time, cut it up with a hacksaw, and dissolved it in concentrated sulfuric acid.Template:Sfn<ref name="usnews">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the late 20th and early 21st century, Lumumba's assassination was investigated. In a 1999 interview on Belgian television, in a program about his assassination, Soete displayed a bullet and two teeth that he claimed he had saved from Lumumba's body, one of which included a gold-capped tooth.<ref name=usnews /> According to the 2001 Belgian Commission investigating Lumumba's assassination: (1) Belgium wanted Lumumba arrested, (2) Belgium was not particularly concerned with Lumumba's physical well-being, and (3) although informed of the danger to Lumumba's life, Belgium did not take any action to avert his death. The report concluded that Belgium had not ordered Lumumba's execution.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In February 2002, the Belgian government formally apologised to the Congolese people, and admitted to a "moral responsibility" and "an irrefutable portion of responsibility in the events that led to the death of Lumumba".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Lumumba's execution was carried out by a firing squad led by Belgian mercenary Julien Gat;Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Katangan Police Commissioner Verscheure, who was Belgian, had overall command of the execution site.Template:Sfn The separatist Katangan regime was heavily supported by the Belgian mining conglomerate Union Minière du Haut-Katanga.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the early 21st century, De Witte found documents challenging the idea that Belgian officers operating in Katanga only took orders from the Katangan authorities. Belgian officers were also following Belgian government policy and orders. The Belgian Minister of African Affairs Count Harold d'Aspremont Lynden, who had been tasked with organising Katanga's secession, on 6 October 1960 sent a cable to Katanga saying that policy from now on would be the "definitive elimination of Patrice Lumumba". Lynden had also insisted on 15 January 1961, that an imprisoned Lumumba should be sent to Katanga, which essentially would have been a death sentence.<ref>Template:Cite news 00.36.57.</ref>

In June 2025, Baudouin's close associate Étienne Davignon, a former Belgian junior diplomat to Congo, was requested to be tried for war crimes for his involvement in the unlawful detention, deprivation of a fair trial, and torture of Lumumba in 1960. It is expected to be decided in January 2026 whether a trial will take place. Davignon has denied the allegations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

United States involvement

Template:See also The 2001 report by the Belgian Commission describes previous U.S. and Belgian plots to kill Lumumba. Among them was a CIA-sponsored attempt to poison him. Eisenhower authorised the assassination of Lumumba in 1960.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the plot to poison him was abandoned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="USN">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb, a key person in the plan, devised a number of toxic materials to be used for the assassination. In September 1960, Gottlieb brought a vial of the poison to the Congo, and CIA Station Chief Larry Devlin developed plans to place it on Lumumba's toothbrush or in his food.<ref>6) Plan to poison Congo leader Patrice Lumumba (p. 464), Family jewels CIA documents, National Security Archive website</ref><ref name="USN"/> The plot was abandoned because Devlin's agent was unable to carry out the assassination, and the replacement agent Justin O'Donnell refused to participate in an assassination plot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to Madeleine G. Kalb in her book, Congo Cables, many communications by Devlin at the time urged the elimination of Lumumba.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Michael P. Holt writes that Devlin also helped to direct the search to capture Lumumba and also helped arrange his transfer to the separatist authorities in Katanga.<ref>Hoyt, Michael P. (2000). Captive in the Congo: A Consul's Return to the Heart of Darkness. Naval Institute Press. p. 158. Template:ISBN.</ref> John Stockwell, a CIA officer in the Congo and later a CIA station chief, wrote in 1978 that the CIA base chief in Elizabethville was in direct contact with Lumumba's killers on the night he was executed.Template:Citation needed Stockwell also wrote that a CIA agent had a body in the trunk of his car that they were trying to dispose of.Template:Sfn Stockwell, who knew Devlin well, believed that Devlin knew more than anyone else about the murder.Template:Sfn

The inauguration of John F. Kennedy in January 1961 caused fear among Mobutu's faction, and within the CIA, that the incoming Kennedy administration would favour the imprisoned Lumumba.Template:Sfn While awaiting his presidential inauguration, Kennedy had come to believe that Lumumba should be released from custody, though not be allowed to return to power. Lumumba was killed three days before Kennedy's inauguration on 20 January, though Kennedy did not learn of the killing until 13 February.Template:Sfn Kennedy was informed by United Nations ambassador Adlai Stevenson and according to Jacques Lowe who was with him at the time "his hand went to his head in utter despair, 'Oh, no,' I heard him groan".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Church Committee

In 1975, the Church Committee went on record with the finding that CIA chief Allen Dulles had ordered Lumumba's assassination as "an urgent and prime objective".Template:Sfn Furthermore, declassified CIA cables quoted or mentioned in the Church report, and in Kalb (1982), mention two specific CIA plots to murder Lumumba: the poison plot and a shooting plot.

The Committee later found that while the CIA had conspired to kill Lumumba, it was not directly involved in the murder.<ref name="Guardian" />

U.S. government documents

In the early 21st century, declassified documents revealed that the CIA had plotted to assassinate Lumumba. The documents indicate that the Congolese leaders who overthrew Lumumba and transferred him to the Katangan authorities, including Mobutu Sese Seko and Joseph Kasa-Vubu, received money and weapons directly from the CIA.<ref name="USN"/><ref>Stephen Weissman, "Opening the Secret Files on Lumumba's Murder", Washington Post, 21 July 2001.</ref> The same disclosure showed that, at the time, the U.S. government believed that Lumumba was a communist, and feared him because of what it considered the threat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War.<ref>Blaine Harden, Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, p. 50.</ref>

In 2000, a newly declassified interview with Robert Johnson, who was the minutekeeper of the U.S. National Security Council at the time in question, revealed that Eisenhower had said "something [to CIA chief Allen Dulles] to the effect that Lumumba should be eliminated".<ref name="Guardian" /> The interview from the Senate Intelligence Committee's inquiry on covert action was released in August 2000.<ref name="Guardian" />

In 2013, the U.S. State Department admitted that Eisenhower discussed plans at a NSC meeting on 18 August 1960 to assassinate Lumumba.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, documents released in 2017 revealed that an American role in Lumumba's murder was only under consideration by the CIA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> CIA Chief Allan Dulles had allocated $100,000 to accomplish the act, but the plan was not carried out.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

United Kingdom involvement

In June 2001, newly discovered documents by De Witte revealed that while the US and Belgium actively plotted to murder Lumumba, the British government secretly wanted him "got rid of" because they believed he posed a serious threat to British interests in the Congo, such as mining facilities in Katanga. Howard Smith, who was to become head of MI5 in 1979, said, "I can see only two possible solutions to the problem. The first is the simple one of ensuring Lumumba's removal from the scene by killing him. This should solve the problem".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2013, in a letter to the London Review of Books, British parliamentarian David Lea reported having discussed Lumumba's death with MI6 officer Daphne Park shortly before she died in March 2010. Park had been posted to Leopoldville at the time of Lumumba's death, and was later a semi-official spokesperson for MI6 in the House of Lords.<ref>Ben Quinn, "MI6 'arranged Cold War killing' of Congo prime minister", The Guardian, 1 April 2013.</ref> According to Lea, when he mentioned "the uproar" surrounding Lumumba's abduction and murder, and recalled the theory that MI6 might have had "something to do with it", Park replied, "We did. I organised it."<ref>"Letters", London Review of Books, 11 April 2013, p. 4.</ref> The BBC reported that, subsequently, "Whitehall sources" described the claims of MI6 involvement as "speculative".<ref>"MI6 and the death of Patrice Lumumba", BBC News, 2 April 2013.</ref>

Repatriation of his remains

File:Kinshasa - Mausolée de Patrice Lumumba.jpg

The mausoleum of Patrice Lumumba was inaugurated in 2022 in Kinshasa at the place de l'Échangeur.

On 30 June 2020, Lumumba's daughter, Juliana Lumumba, appealed directly in a letter to Philippe, King of the Belgians, the return of "the relics of Patrice Émery Lumumba to the ground of his ancestors", describing her father as "a hero without a grave". The letter stated: "Why, after his terrible murder, have Lumumba's remains been condemned to remain a soul forever wandering, without a grave to shelter his eternal rest?"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 10 September 2020, a Belgian judge ruled that Lumumba's remains – which then consisted of just a single gold-capped tooth (Gerard Soete had lost the other tooth of Lumumba between 1999 and 2020) – must be returned to his family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2021, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi announced that there would be a repatriation of the last remains of Lumumba,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> however, the handover ceremony was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 9 June 2022, during a speech in the DRC to the country's parliament, King Philippe reiterated regrets for Belgium's colonial past in its former colony, describing Belgian rule as a "regime ... of unequal relations, unjustifiable in itself, marked by paternalism, discrimination and racism" that "led to violent acts and humiliations".<ref name=bk>"Belgian king meets veteran, returns Suku mask to DR Congo". Deutsche Welle. 6 August 2022. Reuters/AFP.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 20 June, Lumumba's children received the remains of their father during a ceremony at Egmont Palace in Brussels, where the federal prosecutor formally handed custody to the family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, apologised on behalf of the Belgian government for his country's role in Lumumba's assassination: "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."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "A man was murdered for his political convictions, his words, his ideals", he added. Later the full-sized coffin was brought in public and draped in the Congolese flag for the Congolese and wider African diaspora of Belgium to pay their respects before the return.<ref name=bk/>

A special mausoleum was built in Kinshasa to house his remains. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared three days of national mourning. The burial coincided with the 61st anniversary of his famous independence day speech. An investigation by Belgian prosecutors for "war crimes" related to Lumumba's murder is ongoing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His remains were laid to rest 30 June 2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 18 November 2024, the mausoleum was vandalised and Lumumba's coffin broken, with the interior ministry saying that his tooth was safe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political ideology

Lumumba did not espouse a comprehensive political or economic platform.Template:Sfn According to Patricia Goff, Lumumba was the first Congolese to articulate a narrative of the Congo that contradicted traditional Belgian views of colonisation, and he highlighted the suffering of the indigenous population under European rule. Goff writes that Lumumba was alone among his contemporaries in encompassing all Congolese people in his narrative (the others confined their discussions to their respective ethnicities or regions),Template:Sfn and he offered a basis for national identity that was predicated upon having survived colonial victimisation, as well as the people's innate dignity, humanity, strength, and unity.Template:Sfn Lumumba's ideal of humanism included the values of egalitarianism, social justice, liberty, and the recognition of fundamental rights. He viewed the state as a positive advocate for the public welfare and its intervention in Congolese society necessary to ensure equality, justice, and social harmony.<ref name="lavdc">Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

File:Le 17 janvier 1961, Patrice Lumumba mourrait, victime de son « rêve » pour un Congo libre, démocratique et développé. (16112526649).jpg

Statue of Lumumba in Kinshasa, erected in January 2002 after the fall of the Mobutu regimeTemplate:Sfn

Historiography

Full accounts of Lumumba's life and death were printed within weeks of his demise. Beginning in 1961 and continuing for several years thereafter, some biographies on him were published. Most were highly partisan. Several early works on the Congo Crisis also discussed Lumumba at length.Template:Sfn In the years after his death, misconceptions of Lumumba persisted by both his supporters and his critics.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Serious study of him faded over the following decades.Template:Sfn Academic discussion of his legacy was largely limited until the later stages of Mobutu's rule in the Congo;Template:Sfn Mobutu's opening of the country to multi-party politics beginning in 1990 revived interest in Lumumba's death.Template:Sfn

Belgian literature in the decades following the Congo Crisis portrayed him as incompetent, demagogic, aggressive, ungrateful, undiplomatic, and communist.Template:Sfn Most Africanists of the 20th century, such as Jean-Claude Willame, viewed Lumumba as an intransigent, unrealistic idealist without any tangible programme who distanced himself from his contemporaries and alienated the Western world with radical anti-colonial rhetoric.Template:Sfn They saw him as greatly responsible for the political crisis that resulted in his downfall. A handful of other writers, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, shared the belief that Lumumba's goals were unattainable in 1960 but nevertheless viewed him as a martyr of Congolese independence at the hands of certain Western interests and the victim of events over which he had little control. According to sociologist De Witte, both of these perspectives overstate the political weaknesses and isolation of Lumumba.Template:Sfn

A conventional narrative of Lumumba's premiership and downfall eventually emerged; he was an uncompromising radical who provoked his own murder by angering domestic separatists.Template:Sfn Within Belgium, the popular narrative of his death implicated the involvement of some Belgian individuals, but stressed that they were acting "under orders" of African figures and that the Belgian government was uninvolved. Some Belgian circles peddled the notion that the United States—particularly the Central Intelligence Agency—had arranged the killing.Template:Sfn

This narrative was challenged by De Witte's 2001 work, The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba, which provided evidence that the Belgian government—with the complicity of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the UN—was largely responsible for his death.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Media discussion of Lumumba, spurred by the release of the book as well as a feature film in 2000, Lumumba, became significantly more positive afterwards. A new narrative subsequently emerged, holding Western espionage at fault for Lumumba's death, and emphasising the threat his charismatic appeal posed to Western interests.Template:Sfn Lumumba's role in the Congolese independence movement is well-documented, and he is typically recognised as its most important and influential leader.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn His exploits are usually celebrated as the work of him as an individual and not that of a larger movement.Template:Sfn

Political impact

Due to his relatively short career in government, quick removal from power, and controversial death, a consensus has not been reached on Lumumba's political legacy. His downfall was detrimental to African nationalist movements, and he is generally remembered primarily for his assassination.Template:Sfn

Numerous American historians have cited his death as a major contributing factor to the radicalisation of the American civil rights movement in the 1960s,Template:Sfn and many African-American activist organisations and publications used public comment on his death to express their ideology.Template:Sfn Popular memory of Lumumba has often discarded his politics and reduced him to a symbol.Template:Sfn

Within the Congo, Lumumba is primarily portrayed as a symbol of national unity, while abroad he is usually cast as a Pan-Africanist and anticolonial revolutionary.Template:Sfn The ideological legacy of Lumumba is known as Template:Lang (French for Lumumbism). Rather than a complex doctrine, it is usually framed as a set of fundamental principles consisting of nationalism, Pan-Africanism, nonalignment, and social progressivism.Template:Sfn Mobutism built off of these principles.<ref name= lavdc/> Congolese university students—who had up until independence held little respect for Lumumba—embraced Template:Lang after his death.Template:Sfn According to political scientist Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Lumumba's "greatest legacy ... for the Congo is the ideal of national unity". Nzongola-Ntalaja further posited that, as a result of Lumumba's high praise of the independence movement and his work to end the Katangese secession, "the people of the Congo are likely to remain steadfast in their defense of national unity and territorial integrity, come hell or high water."Template:Sfn Political scientist Ali Mazrui wrote, "It looks as if the memory of Lumumba may contribute more to the 'oneness' of the Congolese than anything Lumumba himself actually did while he was still alive."Template:Sfn

Following the suppression of the rebellions of 1964 and 1965, most Lumumbist ideology was confined to isolated groups of intellectuals who faced repression under Mobutu's regime.Template:Sfn By 1966 there was little popular devotion to him outside of the political elite.Template:Sfn Centres of Lumumba's popularity in his lifetime underwent a gradual decline in fidelity to his person and ideas. According to Africanist Bogumil Jewsiewicki, by 1999 "the only faithful surviving Lumumbist nucleus is located in Sankuru and Maniema, and its loyalty is questionable (more ethnical, regional, and sentimental than ideological and political)."Template:Sfn Lumumba's image was unpopular in southern Kasai for years after his death, as many Baluba remained aware of the military campaign he ordered in August 1960 that resulted in violent atrocities against their people.Template:Sfn

At least a dozen Congolese political parties have claimed to bear Lumumba's political and spiritual heritage.Template:Sfn Despite this, few entities have attempted or succeeded in incorporating his ideas into a comprehensible political program.Template:Sfn Most of these parties have enjoyed little electoral support, though Gizenga's Template:Lang was represented in the Congolese coalition government formed under President Joseph Kabila in 2006. Aside from student groups, Lumumbist ideals play only a minor role in current Congolese politics.Template:Sfn Congolese presidents Mobutu, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, and Joseph Kabila all claimed to inherit Lumumba's legacy and paid tribute to him early on in their tenures.Template:Sfn

Martyrdom

The circumstances of Lumumba's death have led him to often be portrayed as a martyr.Template:Sfn While his demise led to an outburst of mass demonstrations abroad and quick creation of a martyr image internationally, the immediate reaction to his death in the Congo was not as uniform. Tetela, Songye, and Luba-Katanga peoples created folks songs of mourning for him, but these were groups which had been involved in political alliances with him and, at the time, Lumumba was unpopular in large segments of the Congolese populace, particularly in the capital, Bas-Congo, Katanga, and South Kasai. Some of his actions and the portrayal of him as a communist by his detractors had also generated disaffection in the army, civil service, labour unions, and the Catholic Church. Lumumba's reputation as a martyr in the collective memory of the Congolese was only cemented later, partly due to the initiatives of Mobutu.Template:Sfn

In Congolese collective memory, it is perceived that Lumumba was killed through Western machinations because he defended the Congo's self-determination.Template:Sfn The killing is viewed in the context of the memory as a symbolic moment in which the Congo lost its dignity in the international realm and the ability to determine its future, which has since been controlled by the West.Template:Sfn Lumumba's determination to pursue his goals is extrapolated upon the Congolese people as their own; securing the Congo's dignity and self-determination would thus ensure their "redemption" from victimisation by Western powers.Template:Sfn Historian David Van Reybrouck wrote, "In no time Lumumba became a martyr of decolonisation ... He owed this status more to the horrible end of his life than to his political successes."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Journalist Michela Wrong remarked that "He really did become a hero after his death, in a way that one has to wonder if he would have been such a hero if he had remained and run the country and faced all the problems that running a country as big as Congo would have inevitably brought."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Drama scholar Peit Defraeya wrote, "Lumumba as a dead martyr has become a more compelling figure in liberationist discourse than the controversial live politician."Template:Sfn Historian Pedro Monaville wrote that "his globally iconic status was not commensurate with his more complex legacy in [the] Congo."Template:Sfn Cooptation of Lumumba's legacy by Congolese presidents and state media has generated doubts in the Congolese public about his reputation.Template:Sfn

Commemoration and official tributes

File:The Soviet Union 1961 CPA 2576 stamp (The Struggle for the Liberation of Africa. Lumumba ( 1925-1961 ), premier of Congo).jpg

USSR commemorative stamp, 1961

In 1961 Adoula became Prime Minister of the Congo. Shortly after assuming office he went to Stanleyville and laid a wreath of flowers at an impromptu monument established for Lumumba. After Tshombe became Prime Minister in 1964, he also went to Stanleyville and did the same.Template:Sfn On 30 June 1966, Mobutu rehabilitated Lumumba's image and proclaimed him a "national hero".Template:Sfn He declared a series of other measures meant to commemorate Lumumba, though few of these were ever executed aside from the release of a banknote with his visage the subsequent year. This banknote was the only paper money during Mobutu's rule that bore the face of a leader other than the incumbent president. In following years state mention of Lumumba declined and Mobutu's regime viewed unofficial tributes to him with suspicion. Following Laurent-Désiré Kabila's seizure of power in the 1990s, a new line of Congolese francs was issued bearing Lumumba's image.Template:Sfn

In January 2003, Joseph Kabila, who succeeded his father as president, inaugurated a statue of Lumumba.Template:Sfn In Guinea, Lumumba was featured on a coin and two regular banknotes despite not having any national ties to the country. This was an unprecedented occurrence in the modern history of national currency, as images of foreigners are normally reserved only for specially-released commemorative money.Template:Sfn As of 2020, Lumumba has been featured on 16 different postage stamps.Template:Sfn Many streets and public squares around the world have been named after him.Template:Sfn The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow (then Peoples' Friendship University of the USSR) was renamed "Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University" in 1961. It was renamed again in 1992<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and back in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2013, the planned community of Lumumbaville was named after him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In popular culture

Lumumba is viewed as one of the "fathers of independence" of the Congo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The image of Lumumba appears frequently in social media and is often used as a rallying cry in demonstrations of social defiance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His figure is prevalent in art and literature, mostly outside of the Congo.Template:Sfn He was referenced by numerous African-American writers of the American civil rights movement, especially in their works of the post-civil rights era.Template:Sfn Malcolm X declared him "the greatest black man who ever walked the African continent".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Among the most prominent works featuring him are Aimé Césaire's 1966 play, Une saison au Congo, and Raoul Peck's 1992 documentary and 2000 feature film, Lumumba, la mort d'un prophète and Lumumba, respectively.Template:Sfn

There is an Italian 1968 feature film 'Seduto alla sua destra' (Template:Lit) by Valerio Zurlini, where the last days of the character Maurice Lalubi (played by Woody Strode), based upon Patrice Lumumba, are presented as the Passion of Christ. This movie was included in the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, which was cancelled due to the events of May 68 in France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The 2024 film Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat depicts the Congolese independence process and Lumumba's death.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Congolese musicians Franco Luambo and Joseph Kabasele both wrote songs in tribute to Lumumba shortly after his death.Template:Sfn Other musical works mentioning him include "Lumumba" by Miriam Makeba, "Done Too Soon" by Neil Diamond and "Waltz for Lumumba" by the Spencer Davis Group. His name is also mentioned in rap music; Arrested Development, Nas, David Banner, Black Thought, Damso, Baloji, Médine, Sammus and many others have mentioned him in their work.Template:Sfn

In popular painting he is often paired with notions of sacrifice and redemption,Template:Sfn even being portrayed as a messiah, with his downfall being his passion.Template:Sfn Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu painted a series chronicling Lumumba's life and career.Template:Sfn Lumumba is relatively absent from Congolese writing, and he is often portrayed with only subtle or ambiguous references.Template:Sfn Congolese authors Sony Lab'ou Tansi's and Sylvain Bemba's fictional Parentheses of Blood and Léopolis, respectively, both feature characters with strong similarities to Lumumba.Template:Sfn In written tributes to Mobutu, Lumumba is usually portrayed as an adviser to the former. Writer Charles Djungu-Simba observed, "Lumumba is rather considered as a vestige of the past, albeit an illustrious past".Template:Sfn His surname is often used to identify a long drink of hot or cold chocolate and rum.Template:Sfn

References

Sources

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Further reading

• Chotiner, Isaac, "A Dangerous Man: Why Congo's independence leader Patrice Lumumba had to die" (review of Stuart A. Reid, The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination, Knopf, 2023), The New Yorker, 6 November 2023, pp. 67–70.
• Howard W. French, 'A Damn Nuisance' (review of Stuart A. Reid, The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination, Knopf, 2023, 618 pp.; Andrée Blouin in collaboration with Jean MacKellar, My Country, Africa: Autobiography of the Black Pasionaria, Verso, 288 pp.; Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, a documentary film directed by Johann Grimonprez), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXXII, no. 14 (25 September 2025), pp. 34–36. Lumumba "was overthrown and murdered ... because he came up against forces that were far too powerful for him to overcome. Belgium, driven by avarice and national pride, and the US, driven by paranoia about Soviet expansionism, were irremediably hostile to African leaders who sought to preserve a degree of nonalignment, used progressive rhetoric, and spoke defiantly and proudly about Africa's rightful place in the world." (p. 36.)

External links

• Speeches and writings by and about Patrice Lumumba, at the Marxists Internet Archive.
• Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Remembering the U.S.-Backed Assassination – video report by Democracy Now!
• Africa Within. A rich source of information on Lumumba, including a reprint of Stephen R. Weissman's 21 July 2002 article from the Washington Post.
• BBC Lumumba apology: Congo's mixed feelings.
• Mysteries of History Lumumba assassination.
• Template:YouTube Documentary of Lumumba's life and work in the Congo.
• BBC An "On this day" text. It features an audio clip of a BBC correspondent on Lumumba's death.
• English translation of Lumumba's speech at the 1960 independence day ceremony
• Patrice Lumumba, Royal Museum for Central Africa