Remembering Patrice Lumumba: The First Prime Minister of The Congo
Over the past couple of days, I have been reading on one of the 'fathers' of modern Africa, Patrice Lumumba, his story is very moving and showcases the strain, difficulties and prejudices faced by the African nationalists after colonisation.
As the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice was loved by his people, respected by his peers and intensely hated by the colonial master, Belgium and the U.S. In fact, his speech during the independence ceremony did nothing to foster a 'diplomatic' relationship between both sides and was heavily criticised by the western press and earned him very powerful enemies who showed him exactly what happens to anyone who crosses them. This is an excerpt from his fiery speech.
"Our wounds are too fresh and too smarting for us to be able to have known ironies, insults, and blows which we had to undergo morning, noon and night because we were Negroes. We have seen our lands spoiled in the name of laws which only recognised the right of the strongest. We have known laws which differed according to whether it dealt with a black man or a white".
We have known the atrocious sufferings of those who were imprisoned for their political opinions or religious beliefs and of those exiled in their own country. Their fate was worse than death itself. Who will forget the rifle-fire from which so many of our brothers perished, or the gaols in to which were brutally thrown those who did not want to submit to a regime of justice, oppression and exploitation which were the means the colonialists employed to dominate us?"
"For this independence of the Congo, even as it is celebrated today with Belgium, a friendly country with whom we deal as equal to equal, no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that it was by fighting that it has been won, a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood. We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force".
His administration only lasted 10 weeks, thanks to disagreements with the President Kasa-Vubu, whom he later deposed, the demands for successions from other parts of the Congo, external intervention from Western countries opposed to the 'apparent' Communism due to Congo's good relations with Russia and even most shocking of all, lack of support from the United Nations.
But what makes this story even more painful is the way this great man and visionary was assassinated. After the coup d'etat orchestrated by dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko and sponsored by the C.I.A.and Belgium, he was placed under house arrest in the Prime Minister's quarters. As he was escaping to a safe zone outside the capital city, Kinshasa, he was captured by Mobutu's troops and flown back to Kinshasa bound in rope.
He would be later killed by firing squad in the presence of Belgian officials, unbeknownst to the Congolese people, and later buried in a field. When news spread of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, his body was exhumed by the soldiers and mutilated so there would not be concrete proof of his death.
Mutilation is a very light word to use to describe what was done to him. His body was cut up with a hacksaw and dosed in acid. Amongst the perpetrators of these heinous acts were Belgian Police Commissioner Gerald Soete (who boasted on Belgian TV in 1999 that he had saved 2 teeth and a bullet from Patrice's body) and Frans Verscheure ( who is alleged to have kept bullets from his skull).
I am always filled with intense emotions anytime I read about Patrice Lumumba, and what makes matters worse for me is after this grizzly assassination, Mobutu Seke Seko made life virtually impossible for ordinary Congolese people. He looted the treasury and suppressed opposition, holding elections where he was the only candidate.....
In my opinion, the best way to remember such a great man is his achievements in his relatively short life. Spearheading the independence drive in the Congo, refusing to bow down to external forces and his incredible way of showcasing his emotions in writing; his now infamous independence speech and what is alleged to be the last letter he wrote, to his wife, Pauline.
I leave you now with a couple of videos and copy of the aforementioned letter to his wife.
Have a great day.....x
Documentary of Patrice Lumumba - part 1
Part 2
Part 3
My dear companion,
I write you these words without knowing if they will reach you, when they will reach you, or if I will still be living when you read them. All during the length of my fight for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and myself have consecrated our lives. But what we wish for our country, its right to an honorable life, to a spotless dignity, to an independence without restrictions, Belgian colonialism and its Western allies-who have found direct and indirect support, deliberate and not deliberate among certain high officials of the United Nations, this organization in which we placed all our confidence when we called for their assistance-have not wished it.
They have corrupted certain of our fellow countrymen, they have contributed to distorting the truth and our enemies, that they will rise up like a single person to say no to a degrading and shameful colonialism and to reassume their dignity under a pure sun.
We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese. They will not abandon the light until the day comes when there are no more colonizers and their mercenaries in our country. To my children whom I leave and whom perhaps I will see no more, I wish that they be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful and that it expects for each Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of reconstruction of our independence and our sovereignty; for without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men.
No brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith steadfast, and my confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live in submission and scorn of sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity.
Do not weep for me, my dear companion. I know that my country, which suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty. Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!
Patrice
As the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice was loved by his people, respected by his peers and intensely hated by the colonial master, Belgium and the U.S. In fact, his speech during the independence ceremony did nothing to foster a 'diplomatic' relationship between both sides and was heavily criticised by the western press and earned him very powerful enemies who showed him exactly what happens to anyone who crosses them. This is an excerpt from his fiery speech.
"Our wounds are too fresh and too smarting for us to be able to have known ironies, insults, and blows which we had to undergo morning, noon and night because we were Negroes. We have seen our lands spoiled in the name of laws which only recognised the right of the strongest. We have known laws which differed according to whether it dealt with a black man or a white".
We have known the atrocious sufferings of those who were imprisoned for their political opinions or religious beliefs and of those exiled in their own country. Their fate was worse than death itself. Who will forget the rifle-fire from which so many of our brothers perished, or the gaols in to which were brutally thrown those who did not want to submit to a regime of justice, oppression and exploitation which were the means the colonialists employed to dominate us?"
"For this independence of the Congo, even as it is celebrated today with Belgium, a friendly country with whom we deal as equal to equal, no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that it was by fighting that it has been won, a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood. We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force".
His administration only lasted 10 weeks, thanks to disagreements with the President Kasa-Vubu, whom he later deposed, the demands for successions from other parts of the Congo, external intervention from Western countries opposed to the 'apparent' Communism due to Congo's good relations with Russia and even most shocking of all, lack of support from the United Nations.
But what makes this story even more painful is the way this great man and visionary was assassinated. After the coup d'etat orchestrated by dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko and sponsored by the C.I.A.and Belgium, he was placed under house arrest in the Prime Minister's quarters. As he was escaping to a safe zone outside the capital city, Kinshasa, he was captured by Mobutu's troops and flown back to Kinshasa bound in rope.
He would be later killed by firing squad in the presence of Belgian officials, unbeknownst to the Congolese people, and later buried in a field. When news spread of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, his body was exhumed by the soldiers and mutilated so there would not be concrete proof of his death.
Mutilation is a very light word to use to describe what was done to him. His body was cut up with a hacksaw and dosed in acid. Amongst the perpetrators of these heinous acts were Belgian Police Commissioner Gerald Soete (who boasted on Belgian TV in 1999 that he had saved 2 teeth and a bullet from Patrice's body) and Frans Verscheure ( who is alleged to have kept bullets from his skull).
I am always filled with intense emotions anytime I read about Patrice Lumumba, and what makes matters worse for me is after this grizzly assassination, Mobutu Seke Seko made life virtually impossible for ordinary Congolese people. He looted the treasury and suppressed opposition, holding elections where he was the only candidate.....
In my opinion, the best way to remember such a great man is his achievements in his relatively short life. Spearheading the independence drive in the Congo, refusing to bow down to external forces and his incredible way of showcasing his emotions in writing; his now infamous independence speech and what is alleged to be the last letter he wrote, to his wife, Pauline.
I leave you now with a couple of videos and copy of the aforementioned letter to his wife.
Have a great day.....x
My dear companion,
I write you these words without knowing if they will reach you, when they will reach you, or if I will still be living when you read them. All during the length of my fight for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and myself have consecrated our lives. But what we wish for our country, its right to an honorable life, to a spotless dignity, to an independence without restrictions, Belgian colonialism and its Western allies-who have found direct and indirect support, deliberate and not deliberate among certain high officials of the United Nations, this organization in which we placed all our confidence when we called for their assistance-have not wished it.
They have corrupted certain of our fellow countrymen, they have contributed to distorting the truth and our enemies, that they will rise up like a single person to say no to a degrading and shameful colonialism and to reassume their dignity under a pure sun.
We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese. They will not abandon the light until the day comes when there are no more colonizers and their mercenaries in our country. To my children whom I leave and whom perhaps I will see no more, I wish that they be told that the future of the Congo is beautiful and that it expects for each Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of reconstruction of our independence and our sovereignty; for without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men.
No brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith steadfast, and my confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live in submission and scorn of sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity.
Do not weep for me, my dear companion. I know that my country, which suffers so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty. Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!
Patrice
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