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A lone statue of DRC’s independence hero Patrice Lumumba marks the spot where he was assassinated 60 years ago on Sunday, with weeds encroaching on the unfinished and largely forgotten roadside memorial.
The neglected site does not reflect the adoration the country has for its first prime minister, but its incomplete state could symbolize the unfinished legacy of a man who was killed just months after taking office.
His family is still seeking justice, with a war crimes investigation in its final stages in the former Belgian colonial ruler. DR Congo is also preparing for Belgium to return all that is left of Lumumba – one tooth.
Young and charismatic, Lumumba was part of the vanguard of Pan-African leaders who led the charge of ending colonialism in Africa in the late 1950s.
A charismatic speaker, he aroused resentment in Belgium from the first day of independence, June 30, 1960, by delivering a dazzling indictment of the brutal colonial regime in a famous speech attended by Belgian King Baudouin.
Historian Guillaume Nkongolo stands near the statue of Lumumba, in a neglected memorial in Katanga. By Samir Tounsi (AFP) The Western powers didn’t need more to see the 35-year-old brand as a threat, especially after he sought support from the Soviet Union.
In an effort to quickly neutralize it, Belgium and the CIA exploited the ambitions of other Congolese leaders, documents show.
They succeeded with a young army chief of staff by the name of Joseph-Desire Mobutu, who led a coup that toppled Lumumba in September after just three months as prime minister.
Later, Mobutu would seize power in another coup and impose a dictatorial regime from 1965 to 1997, renaming the Zaire nation and himself Mobutu Sese Seko.
After Lumumba’s ouster, he was arrested and handed over for execution to authorities in the mineral-rich southeastern province of Katanga, which seceded from the fledgling nation months earlier with Belgian support.
Historian Guillaume Nkongolo at the foot of the tree which, according to his research, is the exact spot where Lumumba was killed. By Samir Tounsi (AFP) A plane carrying Lumumba from the capital Léopoldville – renamed from Kinshasa – landed at the airport in Lubumbashi, the provincial capital of Katanga, in early 1961.
A convoy carrying Lumumba and his captive comrades traveled 55 kilometers (34 miles) towards the town of Kolwezi, before descending a red sand track to stop in the middle of a savannah dotted with trees.
At the foot of one of these trees, a firing squad was waiting.
Lumumba and his two companions, Joseph Okito and Maurice Mpolo, were shot dead by Katangese separatists and Belgian mercenaries after dark on January 17, 1961.
“ It was the Belgians ”
Historian Guillaume Nkongolo stands at the foot of this tree, which, according to his research, is the exact spot where Lumumba was killed.
“In the past, people said that the Congolese, and more particularly the Katangese, killed him,” he told AFP.
“But the archives spoke: it was the Belgians who planned the death of Lumumba and had him executed.”
On a pedestal near the Shilatembo site, the red clay statue of Lumumba lifts its right arm skyward.
An old twin-engine DC2 plane at the Shilatembo site, symbolizing Lumumba’s last flight. By Samir Tounsi (AFP) Some distance away is an old twin-engine DC2 plane, symbolizing Lumumba’s last flight. But it was actually a DC4 that carried Lumumba on this fateful trip, Nkongolo says.
The site houses a statue of another national hero, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the rebel leader who ousted and replaced Mobutu in 1997.
His statue is overgrown with branches and weeds.
Kabila was assassinated almost exactly 20 years ago on January 16, 2001, after which his son Joseph took over, reigning until 2019.
The memorial site was also to feature busts of “great figures of the liberation of their people”, such as Nelson Mandela and the soldier-president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara.
Work began in 2016, but Nkongolo, who was on a commission to develop the site, said he had since “stopped”.
‘Symbol of unity’
“Generally in Congo, especially in Katanga, if you talk about Lumumba, people always tell you that it is a political issue, that it is sensitive,” he said.
The Katangese regard the execution of Lumumba as “a point of dishonor” for their province, Nkongolo said. “However, reality shows that the Katangese have been manipulated by the Belgians.”
Patrice Lumumba, pictured in 1960, is now revered as an independence hero in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By PERSONNEL (BELGA / AFP / File) History teacher Jean-Marie Mwengwe regrets that the history of Lumumba is only taught to students aged 13 and 18.
“The history of our country is very little known to us Congolese.”
The government announced a tribute to Lumumba during the Independence Anniversary celebrations on June 30 this year, when Belgium is expected to give him back the tooth, which a Belgian policeman took in 1961 while helping get rid of him. his body.
“Lumumba represents the symbol of unity in the Congo,” said his eldest son François Lumumba, who fled to Egypt and then to Hungary after the death of his father.
“Plus, he’s the hero of independence.”
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