The Tragic True Story Of Patrice Lumumba

In 2022, 61 years after his death, the only known remaining body part of Patrice Lumumba was finally laid to rest. The first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lumumba was a staunch anti-colonialist whose visions of Congo's decolonization put him in the crosshairs of the CIA.

The Guardian calls Lumumba's murder "the most important assassination of the 20th century," and considering how many assassinations there were in the 20th century, the magnitude of that statement becomes clear. But the CIA wasn't the only one who wanted to eliminate Lumumba's influence. Belgian authorities had been trying to stifle and silence Lumumba since his early political days. Not to mention the internal enemies and rivals in Lumumba's own circles. And the United Nations doesn't have clean hands either.

Some argue that Lumumba's assassination ultimately galvanized a generation of student activists. The Conversation writes that "the murder opened the eyes of many to the violence of neocolonialism." And in response, student activists in the 1960s pushed for decolonization and pushed for pan-African unity, continuing Lumumba's vision. Ultimately, it's impossible to say what would've happened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had Lumumba stayed alive and remained prime minister. But one thing is for certain; Lumumba's death was the result of two colonial powers who were determined to stifle an anti-colonial movement. This is the tragic true story of Patrice Lumumba.

In 1955, Patrice Lumumba dipped his toes in both politics and the labor movement. In addition to joining the Belgian Liberal Party in 1955, Pambazuka News writes that Lumumba also became regional president of an all-Congolese trade union of government employees. And "unlike other unions in the country, [this trade union] was not affiliated to any Belgian trade union"

During this time, Lumumba also began working as a journalist, writing for La Voix du Congolais, Vois du Conlais, La Croix du Congo, and L'Afrique et le Mond. According to "Time and Thoughts of African Political Thinkers," edited by Godfrey O. Ozumba & Elijah Okon John, Lumumba's early writings "emphasized problems of racial, social, and economic discrimination."

But Belgium and its Colonies explains that Lumumba's anti-colonial writings caught the attention of Belgian officials. And after being invited for a study tour of Belgium in 1956, in an effort to redirect his attention, Lumumba was ultimately arrested upon his return the following year "on trumped-up charges of embezzlement" from the post office. According to "Africa: A Modern History," by Guy Arnold, Lumumba claimed that he "had only taken the responsibility for thefts by his staff, but the authorities were determined to get him out of the way." After his arrest and conviction, Lumumba was initially sentenced to two years in prison. However, the Minister for the Colonies reduced his sentence to one year.

Despite being sentenced and imprisoned, Patrice Lumumba served only a few days of his sentence before being released to attend the Belgian-Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels, Belgium, in January-February 1960 to discuss Congo's independence. According to "City Politics" by J.S. La Fontaine, the MNC reportedly made it clear that if Lumumba wasn't present, they wouldn't participate in discussions. And even Belgium authorities realized that the conference would be a failure if Lumumba wasn't present, writes "Africa: A Modern History," so he was released from prison in order to attend the conference.

During the conference, it was decided that the first national elections would be held in May 1960, and the date for Congo's independence was set for June 30, 1960. And one month before the DRC was set to be independent, the MNC won the national elections. After forming a coalition, Lumumba became the first prime minister of the DRC.

According to "Cold War in the Congo" by Frank Villafana, Belgian officials reportedly tried "various ploys to prevent Lumumba from forming a coalition and taking power, but they were ultimately unsuccessful."

Immediately after becoming prime minister, Patrice Lumumba was faced with two secessionist movements in Katanga and South Kasai. Encouraged by the Belgians and the mining conglomerate Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (UMHK), the Katanga Province seceded from the DRC under the theoretical leadership of Moïse Tshombe on July 11, 1960, Philip Thody writes in "Europe Since 1945." Belgium reportedly planted the seeds for Katanga's secession in 1958, motivated by the fact that nearly 50% of the Congo's tax revenue came from Katanga, which held large deposits of numerous minerals, Charles G. Thomas and Toyin Falola write in "Secession and Separatist Conflicts in Postcolonial Africa," Karavubu and Lumumba asked the United States for aid, but they were rejected by President Eisenhower, who told them to ask the United Nations instead.

Although the United Nations agreed to send troops, they refused to suppress the rebellion, leading Lumumba to request aid from the Soviet Union, according to "Times and Thoughts of African Political Thinkers."

In addition, South Kasai had declared independence on June 14, 1960, a little over two weeks before the DRC's own independence day. In an attempt to end the secession, Godfrey Mwakikagile writes that Lumumba sent troops, led by Mobutu, to South Kasai, resulting in a massacre. The province was ultimately retaken by the DRC in December 1961.

Despite having recaptured Patrice Lumumba, he was considered too dangerous to keep imprisoned. According to "Secession and Separatist Conflicts in Postcolonial Africa," "already his political followers in the Stanleyville region were arming themselves and could likely threaten the Leopoldville government." Because of this, Lumumba was flown to Katanga, along with two of his associates, Youth and Sports Minister Maurice Mpolo and Senate Vice-president Joseph Okito, where they were tortured and beaten.

"Times and Thoughts of African Political Thinkers" writes that during the last week of his life, Lumumba was "dragged around with a rope around his neck, while his captors yanked his head for the benefit of newsreel cameras."

On January 17, 1961, Lumumba, Mpolo, and Okito were driven almost 50 miles outside of Elisabethville. There, they were executed by firing squad and buried in a shallow grave, according to "Decolonization and Regional Geopolitics." The bodies were only briefly left buried and, before long, were disinterred and dissolved in acid to destroy any trace of the bodies and to prevent the grave from becoming a pilgrimage site, reports CBS News. Although rumors of Lumumba's assassination leaked, Nigel Cawthorne writes in "Assassinations That Changed The World" that the official announcement regarding Lumumba's death was that he had "escaped and been murdered by hostile villagers."

On February 5, 2002, Belgium finally issued an apology for its role in Patrice Lumumba's assassination, 41 years after his murder. The Guardian reports that although Belgian authorities may not have pulled the trigger themselves, they "failed to protect Lumumba even though it knew he was in mortal danger, lent its military expertise and personnel to those who would murder him, and then did its best to cover up what had happened." Foreign Minister Louis Michel stated that "some members of the government, and some Belgian actors at the time, bear an irrefutable part of the responsibility for the events that led to Patrice Lumumba's death" and announced that a $3.25 million fund was to be created in Lumumba's name "to promote democracy in Congo," per The New York Times.

Although the Belgian parliamentary inquiry determined that Belgium had a moral responsibility for the killings and that they were backed by the CIA, the CIA has repeatedly denied any responsibility for Lumumba's assassination.

In "The Assassination of Lumumba," De Witte writes that through the Belgian parliamentary inquiry, more information about Belgium's role in the destabilization of the Congo was made public. In addition to the secret funds used to overthrow the Congolese government, the inquiry revealed that the Belgian king was reportedly kept informed of the assassination plots against Lumumba.