The only thing we wanted for our country is the right to a worthy life, dignity without pretence, independence without restrictions. This was never the desire of the Belgian colonialists and their Western allies…”
This extract is taken from a letter that Baba Patrice Emery Lumumba wrote to his wife shortly before his execution. The letter was written from behind the walls of Thysville Prison.
Today marks the 64th anniversary of the assassination of Baba Patrice Emery Lumumba. Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 in Onalua, Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
This means this year marks the centenary of Lumumba’s birth and that of Frantz Fanon.
As a young man and budding activist, Lumumba was an avid reader who sometimes borrowed books.
He was also a prolific essayist, poet, and gifted community organizer. In 1958, he co-founded the Congolese National Movement and later became the first legitimate prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
One of his greatest contributions was his call for national unity, across ethnic lines, resisting European domination, and working with, among others, Kwame Nkrumah towards the unification of Afrika.
As his stature and influence grew, the Belgians and AmeriKKKans became very nervous. As a result, they got together and hatched a plan to eliminate Lumumba.
They got support from among others, Mobutu Sese Seko, for their diabolic plan. Like a true lackey of Western imperialism, Mobutu gave orders to his soldiers to capture Lumumba and two of his ministers, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito (whose names we must never forget).
They were taken to an isolated place, where they were beaten and eventually shot and killed on 17 January 1961. Their bodies were buried in shallow graves, months after Congo had declared independence.
Later, their bodies were exhumed, hacked to pieces, and dissolved in sulphuric acid by agents of Mobutu, the Belgian security apparatus, and the CIA
In the months leading up to Lumumba’s assassination, a CIA report to the US State Department in August 1960 stated that:
“In high quarters here it is a 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 of the Congo with disastrous consequences for the prestige of the UN and the interests of the free world generally. Consequently, we conclude that his removal must be an urgent and prime objective and that under existing conditions this should be a high priority of our covert action …”
Also, see the book ‘In Search of Enemies: A CIA Story’ by former CIA chief in Afrika, John Stockwell. In 2002, the Belgian government apologized for its role in his assassination, and in 2013, the US State Department also admitted to its involvement.
Several weeks after Lumumba’s assassination, Frantz Fanon (born in the same year and month as Lumumba and died in the same year as he), wrote an article titled’ Lumumba’s Death: Could We Do Otherwise?’.
In this article, Fanon provides a penetrating analysis of Lumumba’s importance to the Afrikan Revolution and why the imperialists killed him.
In this article, he says:
“The imperialists have decided to kill Lumumba. They did. They decided to form legions of volunteers. They are already in place…Let us never forget: it is our fate, to all, that is being played in Congo.”
The full text appears in Fanon’s ‘Towards The African Revolution’ (1967)’ and the ‘Patrice Lumumba: Voices of Liberation'(2013) series by Leo Zeilig.
Understanding the motives and details behind Lumumba’s assassination is critical for our understanding of the persistence of the minerals-driven armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Such a study also helps us to understand why Afrika continues to remain trapped in an unending spiral of underdevelopment, despite its unparalleled mineral wealth.
Those Afrikans who love Afrika and continue to contribute to the fight for her liberation must make sure their children know about this great son of Afrika. The name Patrice Emery Lumumba must never die!