Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Emery Lumumba (July 2, 1925 - January, 1961) was an African nationalist leader and the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo when it declared its independence in June 1960. Forced out of office during a political crisis in September, he was assassinated in January 1961.

Death of Lumumba

Sixty-seven days after he came to power, Patrice Lumumba was dismissed by state president Joseph Kasavubu. Lumumba, in turn, tried to dismiss Kasavubu, but to no avail. Lumumba was placed under informal house arrest at the prime minister's residence.

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Lumumba now made perhaps the worst decision of his life: he decided to escape. Smuggled out of his residence at night in a visiting diplomat's car, he began a long journey towards Stanleyville. Mobutu's troops were in hot pursuit. Finally trapped on the banks of the Sankuru River, he was captured by soldiers loyal to Colonel Mobutu.

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He appealed to local UN troops to save him. The UN refused on orders from headquarters in New York. He was flown first to Leopoldville, where he appeared beaten and humiliated before journalists and diplomats.

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Further humiliation followed at Mobutu's villa, where soldiers beat the elected prime minister in full view of television cameras. Lumumba was dispatched first to Thysville military barracks, one hundred miles from Leopoldville.

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The Belgians demanded a more decisive ending - they wanted Lumumba delivered into the hands of his sworn enemy, President Tschombe of Katanga.

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Lumumba was beaten again on the flight to Elizabethville on 17 January 1961. He was seized by Katangese soldiers commanded by Belgians and driven to Villa Brouwe. He was guarded and brutalized still further by both Belgian and Katangese troops while President Tschombe and his cabinet decided what to do with him.

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That same night it is said Lumumba was bundled into another convoy that headed into the bush. It drew up beside a large tree. Three firing squads had been assembled, commanded by a Belgian. Another Belgian had overall command of the execution site. Lumumba and two other comrades from the government were lined up against a large tree. President Tschombe and two other ministers were present for the executions, which took place one at a time. Lumumba's corpse was then buried nearby.

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Nothing was said for three weeks - though rumour spread quickly. When Lumumba's death was formally announced on Katangese radio, it was accompanied by an implausible cover involving an escape and murder by enraged villagers. Later, under cover of this yarn, the Belgians dug up Lumumba's corpse and dissolved it in concentrated sulphuric acid. Only a couple of teeth and a fragment of skull survived the process and kept as souvenirs.

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For many years there was much speculation over the roles that western governments had played in the prime minister's murder. With the disclosure of certain documents by author Ludo De Witte, it was finally established that Belgian soldiers were in position around Lumumba at every stage of the assassination, right up to his death.

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Under its own 'Good Samaritan' laws, Belgium was clearly legally culpable for failing to prevent the assassination from taking place.

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In February of 2002, the Belgian government apologized 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." In July of the same year documents released by the United States government revealed that the while the CIA had been kept informed of Belgium's plans, they had no direct role in Lumumba's eventual death. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/patrice.htm

Related Topics:
United States - CIA

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However, this same disclosure showed that US perception at the time was that Lumumba was a crypto-Communist. The same documents also record that US President Eisenhower directly called for Lumumba's murder in one meeting, and a CIA effort was initiated, involving an infamous CIA hit man codenamed QJ/WIN http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4049783,00.html.

Related Topics:
Crypto-Communist - President Eisenhower - QJ/WIN

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