2nd July 1925 - 17 January 1961

“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”

Early Life

Patrice Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 in Onalua, Kasai province, Belgian Congo. Lumumba was a member of the Batetela (Tetela) tribe, a vibrant branch of the central Congo's Mongo-Nkutshy family.

This period of his life would later play a role in his political career. Lumumba attended Catholic and Protestant schools overseen by white Belgian missionaries, as Congo was a Belgian colony. He was an ambitious, intelligent young man who frequently posed difficult questions. After completing missionary school, he continued his education by enrolling in a one-year course at the government post office training school, which he passed with honors. Lumumba desired social mobility, primarily to form part of the “évolués” (Africans educated in the West), the upper echelons of the middle class; the highest level of indigenous Congolese achievement in the Belgian colony.

Beginning of Politics

Lumumba began his career as a postal clerk in Stanleyville City in 1954. A year later, he joined the Black Liberal Party and was elected regional president of a purely Congolese trade union that was not affiliated with either of Belgium's two trade union federations. Lumumba was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison in 1956 on charges of embezzlement of union funds from the post office. He was only imprisoned for a year before his sentence was commuted, and he was released. Lumumba reassessed his "évolué" status and shifted decisively toward Pan-Africanism and Congolese nationalism. Nationalism enabled the Congolese society's diverse ethnic groups to unite and fight colonial economic exploitation, political repression, and cultural oppression.

After his release, Lumumba became even more involved in politics, and in 1958, he co-founded the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC), the Congo's first nationwide political party, with other Congolese leaders. In December of that year, he traveled to Ghana for the first All-African Peoples Conference, where he met numerous nationalists from across Africa and was inducted into the conference's newly formed organization.

Independence

The Belgian government proposed a plan for Congo's independence, beginning with local elections in December 1959. Lumumba and other nationalists viewed this plan as a plot to install puppets before independence, which resulted in election boycotts. On October 30, a clash in Stanleyville resulted in the death of 30 people. Throughout this, Lumumba was imprisoned and sentenced to six months in prison on charges of inciting anti-colonial riots. The MNC shifted their focus from opposition to elections and entered them, winning convincingly with 90% of the vote. In January 1960, the Belgian government convened a Round Table conference in Brussels with representatives from all Congolese political parties to discuss the country's political future. Lumumba was released and flown to the conference after the MNC refused to participate without him.

Congo's independence was agreed upon on June 30, 1960, with national elections taking place in May. Although the country had multiple political parties, the MNC and Lumumba were the favorites.

Prime Minister and Assassination

On June 24, 1960, Lumumba and the MNC were elected as the ruling party and formed the new government; Lumumba's rival, Joseph Kasavubu, was elected president. Lumumba's tenure as Prime Minister was quickly met with rebellion by the army, largely due to their Belgian commander's objections. Additionally, Moise Tshombe oversaw the secession of the mineral-rich province of Katanga from Congo. 

Belgium dispatched troops to the country to protect its citizens, but they were primarily stationed in Katanga, where they backed Tshombe's secessionist regime. Lumumba petitioned the United Nations (UN) for assistance in expelling Belgian forces. Their forces, however, refused to assist in putting down the Katangese revolt. This compelled Lumumba to seek assistance from the Soviet Union, which alarmed many, including the USA, given the Cold War context.

Numerous individuals were opposed to Lumumba and his decision-making as Prime Minister. President Kasavubu used the Katanga crisis to dismiss Lumumba as Prime Minister on 5 September, a position he briefly regained after the National Assembly reinstated him before being deposed on 14 September by Joseph Mobutu (later known as Mobutu Sese Seko). Lumumba was placed under house arrest in Léopoldville in October, with the UN and Mobutu's forces manning the perimeter. Lumumba escaped but was quickly apprehended by Mbotutu's forces and taken to Elisabethville, where he was executed by a firing squad under Belgian command on 17 January 1961.

Although Patrice Lumumba's life was brief, he was a powerful figure in Congo and Africa as a whole. He was elevated to the status of a martyr and a symbol of Congolese and African liberation. Today, he is remembered as one of only a few African leaders who were truly committed to national unity and genuine independence.

References

Adeleke, T. (2008) Patrice Emery Lumumba (1925-1961) •, Blackpast.org. Available at: https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/lumumba-patrice-emery-1925- 1961/ (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

Lumumba, First Prime Minister of Congo - Timeline Index (2021). Available at: https://www.timelineindex.com/content/view/1499 (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

Patrice Émery Lumumba | South African History Online (2021). Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/patrice-emery-lumumba (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

Patrice Lumumba | Biography, Facts, & Death (2021). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Patrice-Lumumba#ref343955 (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

Patrice Lumumba: the most important assassination of the 20th century | Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja (2011). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/global- development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary- assassination (Accessed: 3 March 2021).

10 quotes from Patrice Lumumba (2016). Available at: https://thisisafrica.me/politics- and-society/10-quotes-from-patrice-lumumba/ (Accessed: 3 March 2021).