President Felix Tshisekedi pays tribute to firebrand political chief at a website in Kinshasa the place a memorial is to be put in.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has honoured independence hero Patrice Lumumba, marking 60 years since his assassination in a plot linked to the fledgeling nation’s colonial grasp, Belgium.
President Felix Tshisekedi on Sunday paid tribute to the charismatic political chief at a website within the capital, Kinshasa, the place a memorial is to be put in in his honour.
Lumumba turned the nation’s first democratically elected prime minister after independence from Belgium in 1960. His authorities lasted simply three months earlier than he was overthrown and assassinated by firing squad.
Lumumba’s physique won’t ever be recovered, nonetheless. Shot by Katangan separatists and Belgian mercenaries on January 17, 1961, through the first, chaotic months of independence, his physique was dissolved in acid.
The one a part of his physique ever recovered was a tooth seized from a Belgian policeman who, by his personal account, took it whereas serving to to eliminate the physique.
Final month, Tshisekedi stated Belgium would return the tooth to his household in time for independence anniversary celebrations on June 30.
Troopers guard Patrice Lumumba, proper, and Joseph Okito, left, following their arrest in December 1960 [File: AFP]
Juliana Lumumba, the slain chief’s daughter, wrote to Belgium’s King Philippe final yr, on the top of Black Lives Matter protests, asking for its return.
Distinguished Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, additionally paid tribute to Lumumba, calling him “one of many best heroes in historical past”.
60 years in the past, #PatriceLumumba, one of many best heroes in historical past, was assassinated. A person of willpower who fought to the tip for the liberty, the sovereignty of the #DRC and to straighten the heads of our folks. A mannequin of braveness for the youth.
— Denis Mukwege (@DenisMukwege) January 17, 2021
Lumumba was a “man of willpower who fought to the tip for the liberty, the sovereignty of the #DRC”, he wrote on Twitter. “A mannequin of braveness for the youth.”
Lumumba was faraway from his put up as prime minister shortly after independence after which delivered to his demise by the hands of the Katangan separatists and the mercenaries. His supporters and a few historians accuse the CIA of getting ordered his killing.
In 2001, a Belgian parliamentary committee acknowledged that the nation was “morally accountable” for his demise. In 2012, a Brussels appeals courtroom went additional, describing his homicide as a conflict crime.
An investigation in Belgium for conflict crimes is in its ultimate section, in response to lawyer Christophe Marchand, who filed a criticism in 2011 on behalf of Francois Lumumba, a son of the slain chief.
“It was the Belgians who deliberate Lumumba’s demise and who carried it out,” stated Congolese historian Guillaume Nkongolo, referring to lately opened archives.
