
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
ICC jails former football chief for war crimes
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has sentenced the former chief of the Central African Republic (CAR) football federation, Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, to prison after finding him guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ngaissona was convicted alongside Alfred Yekatom, a rebel leader known as 'Rambo', during a ruling in The Hague on Thursday, with judges handing them prison terms of 12 and 15 years respectively. 'The convictions were across multiple charges, including murder, attacks against a civilian population, forcible transfer, torture and other inhumane acts, and persecution,' the court said in a press release. The charges relate to their roles as leaders of a Christian-dominated armed group called Anti-balaka (meaning 'anti-machete'), which carried out deadly attacks against Muslim communities in the Central African Republic between December 2013 and December 2014. Anti-balaka was formed in 2013 to counter the Muslim-majority Seleka coalition, which seized power after ousting then-President Francois Bozize. Prosecutors accused Ngaissona, also a former government minister, of supplying funds and weapons to Anti-balaka units operating in towns including Bossangoa, Gaga, and Berberati. Yekatom, a former parliamentarian, is said to have commanded an estimated 3,000 fighters and directed attacks in areas such as the capital, Bangui, and Lobaye. According to court documents, witnesses described his forces using grenades, machetes, and assault rifles in raids that terrorized Muslim civilians. Both men had pleaded not guilty when the trial opened in February 2021, after being extradited to The Hague. The ICC said it heard from around 75 witnesses, including victims and insiders from the armed groups. 'The Chamber found Mr Ngaissona and Mr Yekatom guilty beyond any reasonable doubt of a number of war crimes and crimes against humanity,' the court stated. The Central African Republic has experienced decades of militant violence and political insecurity, including six coups, since gaining independence from France in 1960. UN peacekeepers have been deployed under the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) since 2014, but rebel violence against the government has persisted.


Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
African nation hits out at Trump over mega-dam claim
Ethiopia has rejected US President Donald Trump's claims that Washington funded a multibillion-dollar hydropower dam that the East African country has built on the Blue Nile, calling the statement false and 'destructive.' Trump repeatedly said at a White House dinner with Republican senators last Friday that Ethiopia constructed the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) 'largely' with US money. 'It doesn't allow much water going into the Nile River. So you can imagine Egypt's not thrilled because, they live off the Nile River,' he said. The president also claimed in a post on his Truth Social online platform last month that the 'massive' dam, 'stupidly financed' by the US, 'substantially reduces the water flowing' into the Nile River. However, on Tuesday, Fikrte Tamir, deputy director of the GERD Coordination Office, told reporters that the project had been completed 'without any foreign aid.' She said that over its 14-year construction period, it was financed entirely through government resources and public contributions, including salary deductions and donations from the diaspora. 'Regarding the remarks made by US President Donald Trump, the Ethiopian government should respond diplomatically and wisely,' Fikrte added. The landlocked country's government announced the completion of the GERD earlier this month. The facility has been under construction since 2011 and is designed to generate up to 5.15 gigawatts of electricity, making it the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa. The project was initially scheduled for completion within six years on a $4 billion budget. On Tuesday, the GERD Coordination Office announced that 1.7 billion birr (about $12.3 million) has been raised from the public alone during the 2024/25 Ethiopian fiscal year. The project, which Addis Ababa sees as a transformative energy source for the region and a symbol of 'regional cooperation and mutual benefit,' has long been a source of dispute. Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly voiced concerns over its impact on downstream water flows. The Nile reportedly provides approximately 97% of Egypt's supply of fresh water. Both Cairo and Khartoum fear that upstream water retention could severely affect agriculture and water security in their countries.

Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Russian Orthodox Church in Africa not to colonize it
The Russian Orthodox Church has never been a church of colonizers, and its growing mission in Africa should not be associated with colonial ideology, George Maximov, a priest and chairman of the Missionary Department of the Patriarchal Exarchate of Africa, has told RT. Maximov made the remarks on the sidelines of a training workshop for African bloggers held last week in the Russian city of Bryansk, where he spoke about the Orthodox faith and its role across the continent. 'We work with full respect to people, and only in countries where people invite us. We don't want to fight with someone in Africa, or against someone in Africa,' he said when asked whether Africans should be concerned about the increasing activities of the church in their countries. 'Nobody should worry. We came for people who decided to be members of our church and they have this right because in all African countries the freedom of belief is legal,' Maximov added. The Russian Orthodox Church has recently expanded its footprint in several African nations, with parishes in more than 30 states, including Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa. The outreach comes amid broader Russian engagement on the continent, strengthening its diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation. Maximov dismissed suggestions of Kremlin influence, saying the church conducts its work independently and only engages with government or business representatives when advocating for the social needs of parishioners. He told RT that, unlike many international organizations that provide food aid to African countries and create long-term dependency, the church promotes a model focused on economic empowerment. In February, the patriarchal exarchate launched a project to provide clean drinking water to villages in northern Cameroon, following similar initiatives in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. 'We want to find ways to help them. For example, not just giving them food, but providing fertilizer at better prices so that local farmers can feed themselves. It is just one example of our position, and we try to present this position to businessmen and to our government,' he noted. Speaking on the promotion of homosexuality by Western countries, Maximov criticized donor responses that suspend humanitarian support for African governments over local anti-LGBTQ policies. 'It is an inhuman action,' he said, likening the withdrawal of aid, such as over Uganda's anti-LGBTQ laws, to punishing 'innocent' children for decisions made by political leaders. 'I am very impressed by African leaders who stay strong. In my opinion, now Africa is a leader in the defense of traditional family values from this destructive ideology,' the priest added.