Patrice Lumumba's struggle was global, not just African
The former minister of culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo emphasized that her father's fight became – both for the Soviet Union and for Africa – 'an emblem of the anti-colonial struggle and for ideals, in any case also against neocolonialism.' The strength of that solidarity was made visible through symbolic gestures such as 'the naming of avenues in his honor,' she noted.
Lumumba's 'struggle for justice and freedom was not limited to Africa and transcended borders,' she added.
While many countries condemned Lumumba's assassination in 1961, 'it was strongest in the Soviet Union,' where the Peoples' Friendship University was named after her father, Juliana Lumumba said.
That same university in Moscow 'still bears his name today as Patrice Lumumba University' and has produced many African specialists and numerous African leaders, including in the DC Congo, she noted. According to Lumumba, this reflects a form of 'geopolitical continuity… a solidarity that is present, real, and continues.'
Turning to Africa's own future, Juliana Lumumba stressed that 'breaking free from neocolonialism can only be accomplished by unity.' Genuine African solidarity, she said, is being translated into action. 'For example, there's more trade between African countries because we have more trade with each other than with foreigners, European countries or the US,' Lumumba added. 'There's this desire which is becoming stronger and stronger.'
Juliana Lumumba previously described her father as a 'truly iconic figure' of African dignity, who 'symbolizes... liberation, the Africa that he wanted to see independent, standing on its own feet, united.'
Patrice Lumumba was born in 1925 and died in 1961. He was the first democratically elected prime minister of the DR Congo following its liberation from Belgian colonial rule in 1960. His murder was the result of a complex conspiracy involving both domestic Congolese actors and foreign powers, particularly Belgium. On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and his comrades were shot by Katangese soldiers under the command of Belgian officers and buried at the site of the shooting. The following day, the bodies were dug up, dismembered, and dissolved in acid.
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