Lumumba, Patrice 1925–1961

Patrice Lumumba 1925–1961

Former Prime minister of Congo

Showed a Passion for Learning

Became Part of the “Évolué” Community

Independence Sparked in Africa, Inspired Lumumba

Divided Elections, Unstable Nation

Tried to Quell a Chaotic Congo

Question of American Involvement Never Answered

Sources

If the United States has the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X to remember as heroes of the battles in the civil rights movement and “symbols of liberation for people of African descent around the world,” wrote Alan Riding in the New York Times, Congo (for many years known as Zaire) and Africa itself have Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba, a passionate nationalist, became Congo’s first elected prime minister after leading the movement to wrestle control of the country’s independence from Belgium in June of 1960. Two months later, vilified as a Communist by the West in the throes of the Cold War, Lumumba was overthrown and only months after that was murdered with the suspected collusion of the United States and Belgium. Though the United States was cleared of any involvement in Lumumba’s death at the time, suspicions remained and independent investigations continued forty years later. According to sociologist Ludo de Witte in his book The Assassination of Lumumba, Belgian operatives directed and carried out the murder, and even helped dispose of the body. Lumumba’s demise, wrote Bill Berkeley in the New York Times, was a “turning point in history that helps explain how that African nation wound up on the road to its present ruin.”

Showed a Passion for Learning

Patrice Hémery Lumumba was born on July 2, 1925, in the village of Onalua in the province of Kasai, Congo, in the Batetela tribe. One of four sons of poor farmers, he began attending missionary schools at age eleven. Most missionary schools’ prime directive was to prepare blacks for manual labor, and only one hour per day was given to book study, the rest to farming and other physical work. Lumumba’s missionary teachers responded to the boy’s ravenous hunger for knowledge and talent for learning by lending him books to read before dark, as his family was too poor to afford a candle for him to read by. Growing up, gathered with other villagers, Lumumba was told the horrific tales of atrocities at the hands of Belgian soldiers under King Leopold II. The soldiers’ practice was to sever the hands of slave natives who did not gather enough rubber or ivory. Lumumba completed his primary studies in four years and went on to Tshumbe Sainte Marie Secondary School for his secondary education. For reasons unknown—some suggest his father could no longer afford school fees—Lumumba left school at age 18, after three years and with no diploma.

Lumumba went in search of work, first 150 miles away from home to Kindu, a mining town, then to Kalima, where he worked as a nursing assistant. In 1944 Lumumba set out for Kasai’s second-largest city, Stanleyville (now Kisangani). Lumumba was dazzled by the cosmopolitan and European areas of the big city—its wide boulevards, lush parks, swimming pools, skyscrapers, and luxurious villas. But the city’s restaurants, theaters, and hotels were off limits to Africans who were relegated to the back seats of buses and boats, and were not permitted to live within city limits.

Lumumba lived in the nearby township of Mangobo which, fortunately for Lumumba, boasted a library.

At a Glance …

Bom Patrice Hennery Lumumba on July 2, 1925 in the village of Onalua in the province of Kasai, Congo, in the Batetela tribe; died on January 17, 1961; son of Francois Tolenga; married: Pauline Opangu, c. 1951; children: Patrice.

Career: Postal worker, c. 1947; writer for Voce of the Congo, c. 1951; arrested for misappropriating postal funds, 1956; organized Congolese Movement (MNC), 1958; elected prime minister of Congo with President Kasavubu and subsequently overthrown, 1960; arrested, escaped, captured, and delivered to Katanga secessionists, December 1960-January 1961; executed and his body destroyed, January 1961.

Lumumba spent his time reading and with Congolese youth of his age who had also come from rural villages and had been educated in westernized mission schools. They called themselves “évolués.” Together, the group debated issues, listened to news on the radio, and exchanged books. Lumumba took a course to improve his French and learned several Congolese languages, including Swahili, spoken in eastern Congo and throughout East Africa, and Lingala, a trade language spoken along the Congo River.

Became Part of the “Évolué” Community

In 1947 Lumumba—because he was fluent in Congolese languages—got a job as a postal worker in the capital city of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), nearly 1,000 miles down the Congo River, but was transferred back to Stanleyville in 1950. Back in Stanleyville, Lumumba surrounded himself with Congolese intellectuals and liberal politics. He volunteered at the local library and helped organize the first postal-workers’ union. He was a founder of Comité de I’Union Belgo-Congolaise —a group of African intellectuals and liberal Europeans with an aim to improve race relations. Lumumba’s days began at two in the morning, when he would read for a few hours before taking a bath at five and breakfasting on coffee with no sugar. In 1951 Lumumba, no fan of arranged marriages, married 15-year-old Pauline Opangu, an arrangement set up by his father. Pauline could not read, write, or speak French, but Lumumba became “completely captivated” by her “elfin charm,” according to Historic World Leaders. The two had one son, Patrice.

In the early 1950s, Lumumba began expressing himself in editorials and poems he wrote for La Voix du Congolese (Voice of the Congo) and La Croix du Congo, two “évolué” publications. Through these writings, he became known as one of “only a dozen Congolese in a country of thirteen million who dared to express himself,” according to Historic World Leaders. In 1952 after mounting pressure from the évolués, the colonial government announced that qualified natives would be granted a registration card which would entitle them the same privileges as Europeans, theoretically. Lumumba applied and passed the required tests, but was denied on the grounds of “immaturity.” He appealed in 1954 and was among the first to receive the card. The next year, Lumumba was among a group of Congolese granted an audience with reformist Belgian King Baudouin, who was touring Congo. Lumumba was the only one in the group to answer the king’s questions, and the king drew Lumumba aside to discuss the future of Congo as Baudouin’s white dignitaries looked on, ignored.

The royal attention earned Lumumba regard among his fellow Congolese and the contempt of Belgian officials. He was chosen to represent the Congolese in Belgium to discuss political reform. When he returned home to Stanleyville, Lumumba was arrested for stealing about 2,500 francs from his employer, the post office. He had openly “borrowed” the money, he said, and had left a signed receipt declaring his intention to repay. Lumumba maintained his innocence throughout, but was found guilty and sentenced to two years in jail, and served 11 months. The local évolué community raised enough money to reimburse the entire sum and provide for Lumumba’s family during his jail term, but colonial officials likely felt they had silenced a young reformer, if only temporarily.

Independence Sparked in Africa, Inspired Lumumba

Bent on independence for Congo, but discouraged by what had happened in Stanleyville, Lumumba went to work as a salesman for the Belgian Polar Beer company in the capital city of Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) in 1957. During that time, significant political changes were taking place across Africa, with Ghana being the first black African colony to gain independence as a nation. The Mau Mau revolt had been averted in neighboring Kenya and the prospect of independence was looking like it could become reality for several French and British colonies. Belgium finally granted limited African involvement in civic activities and held elections in Leopoldville in 1957.

Lumumba emerged as a founder of the National Congolese Movement (MNC). The group was formed in anticipation of the 1958 visit of a Belgian delegation sent to Congo to examine the political situation there and suggest plans for the country’s future. The MNC petitioned the Belgian government for more native involvement in the planning of their future, and talk began to circulate of Congo’s independence from Belgium, previously unheard of. From this, over a dozen political groups arose in addition to the MNC, demanding independence for Congo. The most significant of these, ABAKO, had been elected to power in Leopoldville, with Joseph Kasavubu as mayor. Another party later appeared, called Confederation des Associations du Ratanga (CONAKAT), and led by Moise Tshombe.

Lumumba and Kasavubu planned to attend the Pan-African People’s Conference that year to strategize all Africa to independence. Kasavubu was unable to make the trip, but Lumumba gave an impassioned speech before the 600 delegates, citing injustices of the past and the Universal Declaration of Rights of Man and the United Nation’s Charter, and arguing for an immediate end to colonialism. He declared colonialism near its end, and made it clear that Europe’s future with African nations depended on support in Africa’s independence, not continued imperialism. Lumumba ended his speech powerfully with: “Down with imperialism. Down with colonialism. Down with racism and tribalism. Long live the Congolese nation. Long live independent Africa.” Meanwhile, freely elected ABAKO and Kasavubu were removed from Leopoldville by Belgian authorities. Lumumba campaigned for Kasavubu’s release and drummed up support for the MNC throughout the colony.

Divided Elections, Unstable Nation

In April of 1959 the MNC led a meeting of Congolese political parties to organize and strengthen and to plan a provisional government, with a deadline set for January 1, 1961. Lumumba was arrested in Stanleyville for inciting disorder in October of 1959, when a riot broke out and twenty Congolese were killed after he gave a speech at an MNC conference there. He was sentenced to six months in jail, but local Belgian officials were forced to release him so he could participate in a roundtable conference between the Congolese and Belgians in Brussels. At the meeting, provincial and national elections were set for May of 1960, with Congo winning independence in June.

The elections themselves attested to how divided Congo truly was. The 137 seats in the National Assembly were split between the PSA with 13 seats, ABAKO with 12, CONAKAT with 8, and MNC with 33, and the rest went to over a dozen smaller parties. Lumumba tried in vain to unify with Tshombe’s CONAKAT, as did Kasavubu. Finally, on June 23rd, Lumumba and Kasavubu allied to form a unified government of Congo, with Kasavubu as president and Lumumba as prime minister.

What set Lumumba apart from his main rivals—veteran politician and Joseph Kasavubu and Moise Tshombe, a power in the Katanga province—were his convictions and vision for a unified and independent Congo. Lumumba, at age 35, became the country’s first prime minister under President Kasavubu on Independence Day, June 30, 1960. In an impromptu Independence Day speech attended by King Baudouin, Lumumba declared that the eighty years of tyrannical colonial rule and Congolese exploitation would be put in the past, and looked forward to cooperating with Belgium as an equal and independent nation.

Tried to Quell a Chaotic Congo

Within days of the victory, the country was in chaos. Congolese army mutinies led to Belgian military intervention. Lumumba reacted by cutting diplomatic ties with Belgium. On July 11, the mineral-rich province of Katanga seceded from Congo, led by Tshombe, who barred Lumumba and Kasavubu from entering the province. Under the advice of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, Lumumba invited United Nations peacekeeping troops to land in the country. When the UN refused to restore Katanga, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev sent planes, weapons, and advisors to aid Lumumba, which drew the attention and confirmed “the worst fears” of the American government under Eisenhower, according to journalist Bill Berkeley of the New York Times. As Lumumba tried to prevent inner turmoil from tearing his country apart at the seams, his enemies seemed to multiply. In September of 1960 army commander Joseph Mobutu arrested and ousted both Kasavubu and Lumumba and took power of Congo.

For accepting Soviet aid during the height of the Cold War, Belgians and Americans accused Lumumba of being communist, to which he replied,”We are not communist, Catholics or socialist. We are African Nationalist. We retain the right to be friends with whoever we like in accordance with the principal of political neutrality.” Still, even out of office, Lumumba remained under the scrutiny of Western spies for his ties to the Soviet Union. In August of 1960, CIA Director Allen Dulles cabled the CIA chief in Congo: “In high quarters here, it is the clear-cut conclusion that if [Lumumba] continues to hold high office, the inevitable result will at best be chaos and at worst pave the way to Communist takeover.… His removal must be an urgent and prime objective.” A few days later, a CIA scientist, Sidney Gottlieb, arrived Congo carrying a vial of poison intended to kill Lumumba. Gottlieb never got his chance, and the poison was dumped in the Congo River.

Lumumba managed to escape Mobutu and tried to join his followers, but was recaptured. In December of 1960, Lumumba was arrested by Congolese authorities and Belgian officials engineered his transfer to his enemies in Katanga, the breakaway province still under Belgian control. “Anyone who knew the place knew that was a death sentence,” according to journalist Kevin Whitelaw of U.S. News & World Report. “I prefer to die with my head unbowed, my faith unshakable, and with profound trust in the destiny of my country,” Lumumba wrote to his wife from prison. He had already been badly beaten and was bleeding when he arrived in Katanga on January 17, 1961, escorted by Belgian soldiers.

Question of American Involvement Never Answered

After Lumumba and two of his aides were murdered, the bodies were cut up with a hacksaw by Belgian Police Commissioner Gerard Soete and his brother and dissolved in sulfuric acid, to destroy the evidence, according to Whitelaw’s article in U.S. News & World Report. In a 1999 television interview, Soete displayed a bullet and two teeth he claimed to have saved from Lumumba’s body. Lumumba’s assassination cleared the way for the insidious regime of dictator Mobutu who, for three decades, ran Congo into poverty. The region never recovered and remains unstable and is a war ground for at least five neighboring countries.

A 1975 U.S. Senate investigation led by the late Frank Church (D-Idaho) found there was “a reasonable inference” that Eisenhower authorized Lumumba’s assassination, but the committee stopped short of a conclusive finding. According to journalist George Lardner Jr. in the Washington Post, an August of 1960 meeting of Eisenhower with the National Security Council lends to suspicions regarding U.S. involvement. Though the meeting notes themselves are inconclusive—attesting to the wisdom of Eisenhower’s no-direct-quotations for meeting reports. The meeting’s notetaker, Robert H. Johnson, told the Post that he distinctly recalled Eisenhower turning to CIA Director Dulles and perfectly audible to everyone at the meeting, saying “something to the effect that Lumumba should be eliminated.” Eisenhower said “something—I can no longer recall the words—that came across to me as an order for the assassination of Lumumba.”

In his research for The Assassination of Lumumba, Ludo de Witte found a Belgian official who help organize Lumumba’s transfer to Katanga who said that he kept CIA station chief Lawrence Devlin fully informed of the plan. “The Americans were informed of the transfer because they actively discussed this thing for weeks,” de Witte told U.S. News & World Report. Devlin, now retired, denied the claim.

Lumumba’s legend has inspired scores of books, articles, art, and film. One major motion biographical picture on the subject, Lumumba, directed by Raoul Peck, stirred up new interest in the slain leader upon its release in 2001. Though the political thriller was produced in cooperation with Lumumba’s family, and paints an admirable and respecting portrait, it is notable for its adherence to the tragic facts. “Lumumba is potent stuff,” wrote critic Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan. “Complex, powerful, intensely dramatic.” Critic Elvis Mitchell wrote in the New York Times that the film contains “a breathtaking amount of information, rolling through history swiftly and boldly yet conveying an epic investment in characterization as Lumumba’s power and comrades inexorably fade, victims of the conflict in the Congo.” Peck also made a well-received documentary film on Lumumba, titled Lumumba: Death of a Prophet, released in 1991. Lumumba was an idealist, director Peck told the New York Times, ”because he had the option of being an opportunist like so many around him and he chose not to be.”

Sources

Books

Meredith, Martin, The First Dance of Freedom, Harper, 1954.

Reshetnyak, Nikolai, Patrice Lumumba, Novosti Press, 1990.

Sarte, Jean Paul, Lumumba Speaks, Little, Brown, 1972.

Periodicals

Economist, August 11, 2001.

Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2001, p. F6.

New York Times, June 6, 1999, p. 29; June 24, 2001, p. 2.13; August 2, 2001, p. A20.

U.S. News and World Report, July 24, 2000, p. 63.

Washington Pos t, August 8, 2000, p. A23.

On-Line

Historic World Leaders, Gale Research, 1994. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center, The Gale Group. 2001, http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioRC

—Brenna Sanchez