He was a revolutionary and a national hero whose assassination shocked the world. The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday celebrated the 100th anniversary of Patrice Lumumba’s birth.
The Democratic Republic of Congo celebrates the centenary of Patrice Lumumba's birth
A military vehicle carries a gold-capped tooth belonging to DRC independence hero Patrice Lumumba to a memorial built in his honour in Kinshasa, 30 June 2022
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AP Photo
An official ceremony was held to honour his memory, at the mausoleum where his remains are housed in Kinshasa. Attendees included the Congolese Culture Minister, Yolande Elebe Ma Ndembo, and Lumumba’s daughter, Juliana.
Patrice Émery Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 as Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa, in what was then the Belgian Congo. He quickly took an interest in the anticolonial struggle.
His Congolese National Movement party won the country’s first elections after its independence in 1960. Lumumba became the country’s first Prime Minister at 34 years old.
He is especially remembered for his improvised and daring speech in front of the Belgian King during Congo’s independence ceremony.
Lumumba’s nationalist beliefs and proximity with the Soviet Union made him a target of Western intelligence services.
President Joseph Kasa-Vubu revoked him after only seven months. Mobutu Sese Seko took power in a coup shortly after.
Lumumba was killed in January 1961 by Katangan separatists and police officers, with the complicity of Belgium and the CIA. The news prompted demonstrations in several countries, including India and the former Yugoslavia.
Lumumba remains a leading figure in Congolese and African history.