“The day will come when history will speak. But it will not be the history which will be taught in Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations…Africa will write its own history and in both north and south it will be a history of glory and dignity” - Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba was a Congolese politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo before being assassinated three months after being sworn in.
In order to accurately understand Lumumba’s story, it is important to know the deep and rich history of Congo.
In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium would declare Congo a free state that which he would rule completely separate from Belgium. He would then go on to brutally exploit the people, including mutilations, rape, and mass killings. There was an estimated 5 - 10 Million dead by the end.
In 1908 the US formally recognized Belgium’s claim to Congo and called for the country to change its status to a colony so the same laws that apply in Belgium would apply in Congo. Due to the change, the US gained a massive stake in the natural wealth of Congo.
Lumumba became politically active around 1955 where he then created the first nationwide political party. He began to spread the idea of independence and wanted to gain direct control of the natural resources for the country. Lumumba asked the UN for resources to be able to drive out the Belgium forces. They denied causing Lumumba to turn to the Soviets who supplied the US forces in Congo with ammunition. This sent the west in a state of panic. Soon after, in 1960, Congo became an independent country and Patrice Lumumba was elected as the first official Prime Minister of Congo.
However, this is not the end of Lumumba’s story. During the process of freeing the country, the US and Belgium used special operatives, including the CIA and the Belgian Security Operatives, to allegedly plot the assassination of Lumumba.
In January of 1961, Lumumba was assassinated in a deserted area of the country, along with two others. Soon following the US sent in military leaders to take over, but the country had split into four sections each rebuilding western ideas within themselves.
Lumumba’s death broke both the country and the spirits of the citizens.
