Latest news with #Lumumba
The Guardian
29-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Lumumba everlasting': Belgium marks Congo's slain leader's 100th birthday with exhibition
If he had lived, Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, would have marked his 100th birthday this month (on 2 July). This unreached milestone is being marked by an exhibition in Brussels at a time when Belgium, the former colonial power, is facing renewed questions about his death. Lumumba was 35 when he was overthrown during a political crisis, then tortured and assassinated by a firing squad in January 1961, along with two associates, Joseph Okito and Maurice Mpolo. Nearly 65 years after the murders, which were carried out by Congolese rivals with the support of Belgian officers, Lumumba's family are still searching for answers. In an unexpected development in June, Belgium's federal prosecutor referred a 92-year-old former diplomat, Étienne Davignon, to the Brussels criminal court over alleged war crimes related to the killings. Davignon, who was dispatched to Congo as a 28-year-old diplomatic intern on the eve of independence in 1960, is the only survivor among 10 former officials accused by the Lumumba family in 2011 of involvement in his assassination. The charges relate to Lumumba's unlawful detention, his denial of a fair trial and 'humiliating and degrading treatment', although a charge of intent to kill has been dismissed. Davignon has denied all claims of involvement. Christophe Marchand, a lawyer for the Lumumba family, said: 'The idea is to have a judicial trial and to have the truth about what happened, not only the role of Étienne Davignon – because he was one part in the whole criminal plan.' Lumumba was a charismatic champion of Congolese independence who made some disastrous decisions during his short-lived premiership. One historian has described his assassination as Congo's 'original sin' that shattered hopes of unity and prosperity in the newly independent country. In 2001 a parliamentary inquiry concluded that Belgian ministers bore a moral responsibility for the events that led to the Congolese leader's gruesome death. Marchand said the parliamentary inquiry had made clear that 'Belgian civil servants took an active part in the transfer of Lumumba from Léopoldville (Kinshasa) to Katanga', where he was murdered. Although the lawyer thought the investigation should have begun earlier, he considered it very significant that Belgium's highest prosecutor had now concluded there was enough evidence for a trial. 'There are very few cases where a former colonial state agrees to address colonial crimes and to consider that they have to be tried … even if it's a very long time after,' Marchand said. A hearing has been scheduled for January 2026, when a judge will decide if a trial should go ahead. Davignon has rejected the case as 'absurd'. The aristocrat is a scion of the Belgian establishment, a former vice-president of the European Commission, who has been involved in numerous Belgian blue chip companies. Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion Speaking to SudInfo this July, Davignon said he had been questioned by the earlier parliamentary inquiry 'where it was found that I had no direct or indirect responsibility for what happened to Lumumba'. He accused the prosecution of being overzealous and 'having gone into things a bit blindly'. Belgium's foreign ministry said it was not able to comment out of respect for the separation of powers, while noting that it was not implicated in the prosecutor's dossier. Nancy Mariam Kawaya, a coordinator at the Congolese Cultural Centre, which is hosting the Lumumba centenary exhibition, said: 'The murder needs to be judged so Belgium can be at peace with the story, so the Congolese can be at peace with the story and we can write a new chapter. 'I want to trust that justice will do its work now,' she added. The exhibition, she said, sought to widen the focus beyond Lumumba's death. The subject of his violent end 'takes so much space' that 'we don't realise that people don't know who he was, his ideas … What was actually his fight?' The small exhibition of paintings by Congolese artists at the cultural centre seeks to fill that gap. One artist imagines an idealised centenarian Lumumba, with cropped grey-white hair, gazing enigmatically into the distance. There are more unsettling works. Another painting depicts modern-day Kinshasa as an unpopulated metropolis of skyscrapers and soup of rubbish, reflecting the scourge of modern-day plastic pollution in the Congolese capital. In another work Lumumba, crowned with a halo, sits on a plastic chair in a rubbish dump as two shoeless young boys stretch out their hands. One of the boys, his hands dripping in blood, is holding a smartphone – a bleak reference to the minerals used to power the world's devices that have fuelled years of conflict in the DRC. Opened in 2023 by the city of Brussels, the Congolese Cultural Centre is part of efforts to turn the page on Belgium's fraught relationship with its former colonies. The exhibition, which runs until 30 July, is entitled Lumumba Sans Temps, a play on words. Sans temps (without time, or everlasting) sounds like 100 years (cent ans) in French and is intended to underline the timelessness, say organisers, of Lumumba's message of unity, rather than division along religious or ethnic lines. 'Lumumba remains our contemporary,' contends Dady Mbumba, the exhibition's curator. 'Lumumba fought for liberty, for equality, for unity,' he said, stressing the importance of the latter after decades of conflict in the DRC. Mbumba, who was born in Congo and lives in Belgium, wants better knowledge of Lumumba's life and the colonial past in both countries. 'It is a history that we share … although difficult and painful.'
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jackson Mayor John Horhn scraps Lumumba-era park plan at property linked to bribery case
A vacant stretch of concrete in Downtown Jackson once earmarked for a skate park, pickleball and volleyball courts, a community stage and other public amenities will no longer be developed as "The Pulse at Farish Street." Instead, Mayor John Horhn plans to tear up and improve the site — now a crumbling, weed-filled, make-shift parking lot across from the Jackson Convention Complex — and convert it to a functional, upgraded parking area for visitors to the convention center. "We think there's a better use for that property," Horhn said in a phone interview Monday. "So our plans are to convert the funds that have been dedicated to The Pulse to the demolition, which is underway. Then we'll come back with a parking opportunity for folks that are patronizing the convention center." The move represents a sharp pivot from a proposal made just months ago under former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and then-Planning and Development Director Jhai Keeton. That plan, unveiled in January, envisioned a three-phase development on the 7.75-acre site including a vendor park, pavilions, food truck space, and a leisure district with open-container alcohol rules. It came on the heels of a major federal bribery indictment tied to the site involving Lumumba, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and former Councilman Aaron Banks — all of whom pleaded not guilty to a combined 17 felony charges. A trial is set for July 13, 2026. At the heart of the charges was a proposed convention center hotel that undercover FBI agents claimed they were interested in developing at the site. Federal prosecutors allege the three officials accepted illicit payments, favors and political contributions in exchange for helping advance the agents' bogus real estate company and sway decisions at City Hall. What happened to the Siemens settlement: Federal judge seeks answers on where funds in Jackson, MS, $89.8M Siemens settlement went The site — bordered by Pearl and Pascagoula streets — has sat largely unused since the Jackson Convention Complex opened in 2009. Since the Convention Complex's debut, the lot has bounced from one development dream to another — first a hotel, then a leisure park, and now, a more modest facelift. The latest decision follows visible movement on the site in recent weeks, including a large pile of torn-up cement that suggested imminent construction. The repaving project will require approval from the Jackson City Council, but Horhn said he's confident he'll have the votes needed. "We're going to have to get the City Council to agree to an amendment because they approved the Pulse project prior to us coming into office," Horhn said. "But we don't think it will be that difficult to achieve." The council had already approved $1.5 million for The Pulse, with an additional $600,000 slated from community development block grant funds. Originally, Lumumba and Keeton said the Pulse could generate $800,000 in its first year. Dale Partners Architects PA, the firm originally hired to design The Pulse after council approval in February, may now have an uncertain future. The firm was under contract to develop plans for the project, but with Horhn's decision to scrap The Pulse, it's unclear what will happen next for Dale Partners and their involvement in future development. Keeton, who led the project rollout under the Lumumba administration, is no longer the city's planning director. Horhn recently announced that Von Anderson, who served as interim spokesman on Horhn's transition team, has been named interim director of the planning department. As of this week, it's unclear whether Keeton remains employed by the City of Jackson. Contact Charlie Drape at cdrape@ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS Mayor Horhn scraps park project tied to Lumumba bribery case
The South African
30-06-2025
- Politics
- The South African
Power: The truth behind Africa's longest-serving presidents
Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms that several African presidents with lengthy tenures first came to power through freedom movements. Over time, many used harsh tactics to secure their authority and silence civil rights, dissent, and opposition. Their extended tenure in office is a reflection of Cold War alliances to secure the Western geopolitical agenda, post-colonial trauma, and structural weaknesses inherited from colonialism. These trends impede democratic transformation and peaceful leadership transitions in many authoritarian African countries. According to historians, including the Kenyan Ali Mazrui, colonial powers drew the borders of Africa with little regard for linguistic, cultural, or ethnic reality. Furthermore, the African Union's Border Program (AUBP) recognises the effects of colonial borders. The AUBP maintains border integrity, promotes demarcation, and fosters regional cooperation. For 23 years (1885–1908), King Leopold II of Belgium owned the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), also called the Congo Free State. Leopold II ended his ownership on 15 November 1908, when the Belgian government took over direct colonial governance. Known as the Belgian Congo, the period of direct Belgian colonial rule continued until the DRC gained independence on 30 June 1960. Belgian rule ended in 1960, leaving the DRC unstable, divided along ethnic and regional lines. That same year, Belgian mining companies, concerned about the nationalisation of natural resources, played a role in influencing the Katanga province to secede from the DRC's new government and become its own country. Katanga contained minerals such as uranium, cobalt, and copper that were vital to Cold War nuclear projects and Western industry. To protect mining interests, Katanga's leader, Moïse Tshombe, declared independence with the support of Belgian troops and mercenaries. The secession movement in Katanga and South Kasai triggered a civil war, split the Congo, and weakened the national government of former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. To regain Katanga, Lumumba sought Soviet support, which worried the West and increased Cold War concerns. The United States and Belgium supported Lumumba's removal. The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station, Larry Devlin, admitted receiving an order to kill Lumumba, even though the CIA did not carry out the murder. With Belgian help, Katangan soldiers executed Lumumba on 17 January 1961. Then-Army Chief Joseph Mobutu seized power in a military coup on 24 November 1965, promising to maintain stability, fight communism, and bring about order. Former President Mobutu ruled the DRC, which he renamed Zaire, as its official president from 1965 to 1997. Using Law No. 001/67, he outlawed multiparty politics in 1967, citing national unity as justification. Between 1967 and 1974, Zaire's (DRC's) economy flourished due to high copper prices and export revenue. Mobutu's centralised government built dams and highways, set up colleges, and expanded civil service employment during this prosperous period. He initiated 'Zairianisation,' replacing colonial names and symbols with African identities, language, and dress. Mobutu grew increasingly authoritarian as he became concerned about outside threats, civil unrest, and elite plots to overthrow him. After 1974, the economy deteriorated due to unsustainable government debt, corruption, and falling copper prices. Mobutu continued to receive financial support from Western countries to maintain Cold War allegiance and challenge Soviet hegemony in Central Africa. Mobutu used military loyalty, foreign aid, and a personality cult to maintain his rule through tyranny and patronage. A 1994 report by Amnesty International (AI) detailed how Mobutu imprisoned opponents and made peaceful political opposition illegal. In 1991, Mobutu regularly imprisoned former prime minister Étienne Tshisekedi for challenging his authority. Mobutu is estimated by Transparency International to have embezzled approximately US$5 billion (roughly R92.5 billion) between 1965 and 1997. Several African leaders were able to control political affairs through post-colonial heroics without being held accountable or subject to institutional scrutiny. Liberation credentials bestowed significant moral power, enabling leaders to rule unchallenged for decades without adhering to democratic standards. With significant support from Western nations, Félix Houphouët-Boigny served as Côte d'Ivoire's first president from 1960 to 1993. Former President Houphouët-Boigny suppressed dissent in 1963 by detaining dozens of people, including members of his party, on suspicion of plotting. He also received substantial support in the 1970s in exchange for his commitment to a pro-Western foreign policy, though the exact amounts of French assistance are classified. In 1982, authorities arrested academic activist Laurent Gbagbo for organising strikes and student-led demonstrations. In Jeune Afrique and other journals, Gbagbo criticised Houphouët-Boigny's repression and censorship. Through the development of infrastructure, international investor relationships, and cocoa exports, he transformed Côte d'Ivoire into the economic hub of West Africa. His Cold War connections, local unrest, and fears of internal coup attempts and disintegration were the root causes of his authoritarianism. From 1980 until 2017, former President Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe, turning anti-colonial recognition into a consolidation and repression of authoritarian power. Political persecution, economic collapse, and deliberate manipulation of Zimbabwe's constitution all contributed to his decline in popularity. After independence, he initially made investments in rural development and improved healthcare and education for Black Zimbabweans. Elite corruption, economic mismanagement, and land expropriation sparked the collapse post-2000, and international isolation exacerbated it further. Superpowers backed African dictators during the Cold War, prioritising ideology over democracy, as US archives consistently confirm. The US National Security Archive documents Cold War tactics that funded autocracies for anti-communist ends. The French-backed economic continuity and political stability were upheld during Omar Bongo's tenure as Gabon's president from 1967 to 2009. Former President Bongo supported Gabon's oil-based economy and made investments in initiatives like Université Omar Bongo, but infrastructure development was uneven, and education received insufficient funding, which sparked protests. Le Monde claims that Bongo was heavily reliant on Elf Aquitaine, which exchanged political funding for access to oil. Elf secretly financed Bongo's government in exchange for oil contracts, as Le Monde Diplomatique (1999) exposed. While Bongo's prolonged rule concentrated power and wealth, it also encouraged institutional dependence on foreign-controlled oil profits. During her corruption investigation, Eva Joly found that Bongo's family had lavish real estate, expensive cars, and suspicious Swiss bank accounts. Watchdog groups claim that the Bongo dictatorship embezzled several hundred million US dollars. Between 1993 and 2005, Pierre Mamboundou led the resistance and was regularly arrested for political dissent. He wrote to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), denouncing monitoring and torture. Bongo remained relatively calm, but his opponents faced violence, censorship, and systematic exclusion from political life. In 1994, Paul Kagame became the de facto leader of Rwanda, and in 2000, he was formally elected president. After the genocide, he restored security, rebuilt Kigali, made healthcare investments, and led Rwanda toward economic growth. His administration improved Rwanda's digital infrastructure, promoted gender equality in parliament, and carried out peacekeeping missions. Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented cases of dissenter arrests, torture, and disappearances in Rwanda and abroad from 2021 to 2023. Global human rights organisations have widely denounced President Kagame's intolerance for dissent, overshadowing his advocacy for control and progress. In African countries with weak civilian institutions, military takeovers have cemented authoritarianism, according to the Institute for Security Studies. According to scholars of African governance, military regimes flourish when democratic oversight and institutions are lacking or ineffective. After a guerrilla campaign against the government of former President Milton Obote, President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986. By issuing Legal Notice No. 1, he put an end to multiparty operations and established Uganda's no-party Movement political system. During his early years in office, Museveni stabilised Uganda's economy and expanded healthcare and education. However, repression of dissenters, electoral fraud, and the lifting of the presidential age limit have gradually compromised progress towards democracy. Former Museveni advisor Dr Kizza Besigye was arrested more than ten times between 2001 and 2022. He was accused of orchestrating unlawful protests in well-known Ugandan cities, causing civil unrest, and contesting election results. Besigye submitted documents to Uganda's Supreme Court in 2016 claiming evidence of electoral fraud and torture. In Africa, personal rule endures because weak institutions enable leaders to solidify their power through repression and loyalty. Equatorial Guinean state institutions were converted into networks of patronage loyal to President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. According to academic sources such as Oxford Academic, Equatorial Guinea is a personalist system where elite co-optation and patronage are essential for political survival. Obiang, who has been in office since 1979, significantly raised GDP in the early 2000s by using GEPetrol to manage oil revenues. Petrodollars enabled the construction of urban roads, infrastructure, electrical access, and luxurious developments in the coastal cities of Bata and Malabo. Yet, the concentration of wealth made inequality worse, and people outside of cities had limited access to basic services. The U.S. Department of Justice made public offshore accounts linked to senior officials involved in the laundering of oil profits and illegal transactions. Hundreds of millions of dollars were seized as a result of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) forfeiture cases involving the ostentatious possessions of the wealthy elite. The conviction of Teodorín Obiang for embezzlement and money laundering was formally upheld by the Court of Cassation in France in 2021. French authorities seized approximately a hundred million euros in estates and upscale goods purchased with embezzled public funds. Agustín Esono Nsogo, a journalist who documented human rights abuses by the government, was tortured at Black Beach jail. Findings from Amnesty International show that Equatorial Guinea's security forces engaged in widespread censorship, incommunicado detentions, and systematic torture. Obiang's long-term rule led to economic growth, but corruption, repression, and nepotism seriously jeopardised national development goals. Long-serving African presidents often use rigged elections and politicised courts to retain power and suppress opposition. The International Crisis Group's (ICG's) 2023 publications highlight trends in election manipulation across Africa, but they don't focus solely on this problem. Since taking office in 1982, President Paul Biya has led Cameroon, frequently winning elections despite widespread allegations of voter intimidation and fraud. Significant irregularities were noted in Cameroon's elections in 2004, 2011, and 2018 by Commonwealth, European Union, and NDI observers. Biya changed Article 6 of the Cameroonian Constitution in 2008, eliminating term limits for presidents. Against strong public opposition, the Biya parliament passed the amendment, which the Constitutional Council later approved. Maurice Kamto, the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, was arrested after he challenged Biya's victory in the 2018 election. Maurice Kamto contested the 2018 election results at Cameroon's constitutional council, but the council made no decision based on concrete evidence of meddling. Biya improved the accessibility of telecommunications and maintained regional links, but road infrastructure was still insufficient and underwent little structural change. But after 2016, his administration's suppression of opposition, delay in decentralisation, and poor handling of Anglophone concerns sparked a deadly separatist struggle. Many African regimes invoke national security to restrict civil rights and consolidate indefinite political power. As the President of Chad from 1991 to 2021, Idriss Déby Itno established himself as a crucial ally in the fight against terrorism. He led Chad's military actions against Boko Haram and made significant contributions to G5 Sahel initiatives. Former President Déby became well-known throughout the world as a strongman by professionalising the Chadian military and expanding regional power. Yet, military priorities diverted funds from civic, educational, and health services, making rural neglect worse. Déby's government frequently invoked security rationales, such as Boko Haram threats, to implement emergency measures that restricted people's freedoms. Under Déby, the Constitutional Council of Chad was largely inactive and rarely opposed presidential actions that restricted civil liberties. Les Transformateurs, led by Dr Succès Masra, advocates for inclusive political representation and nonviolent change in Chad. Particularly in 2021, security forces brutally put an end to Masra-organised rallies, sparking both domestic outrage and global concern. According to Amnesty International, mass arrests and harsh repression of protesters are commonplace in Chad. Amnesty's report confirms that political activists frequently suffered abuse, even though it does not name Masra as a victim of torture. Ethnic divide-and-rule tactics are employed to weaken opposition and prolong control. From 1967 until 2005, former President Gnassingbé Eyadéma led Togo in a combination of prolonged authoritarian rule and socioeconomic advancements. He nationalised Togo's phosphate industry in 1974, boosting revenue and funding infrastructure at the height of the 1970s economy. However, by the 1990s, phosphate exports had collapsed due to corruption and poor management, which sparked a national debt crisis and economic decline. Eyadéma invested funds in public buildings and road construction, strengthening regional ties across central and northern Togo. He relied heavily on the Kabyé ethnic minority to dominate government institutions and exercise control over the military. Southern and minority groups become polarised and enraged as a result of this ongoing ethnic isolation. Eyadéma's government was accused by opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio of repression, which included media censorship, torture, and arrests. The UN and Amnesty International documented torture, censorship, and political persecution in Togo in their 1990s reports. Former President Daniel Arap Moi governed Kenya from 1978 to 2002, enhancing education and rural infrastructure during his initial years in power. He implemented a free milk programme in schools, increased primary enrolment, and constructed roads connecting remote agricultural areas. He centralised authorities, suppressed opposition, and relied on ethnic patronage to maintain national political dominance. According to human rights reports, state-sponsored violence between 1992 and 1997 uprooted thousands, particularly in the Rift Valley. Between 1991 and 1997, the Kenyan government used ethnic violence to weaken opposition during the country's multiparty electoral reforms. The Goldenberg scam, which involved false gold export reimbursements, embezzled millions of Kenyan dollars during Moi's administration. Ultimately, Moi consolidated his power through force, nepotism, and financial mismanagement, despite his initial perceived stabilising role. Authoritarian African presidents frequently amend their constitutions to remove term limits, eroding legal standards to give themselves more authority. Except for the political transitions in 1992 and 1997, President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been in power in Congo since 1979. He held a referendum in 2015 that eliminated age and term limits, allowing for continued presidential rule. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Amnesty International reported fatalities during protests in October 2015 over the term extension. Before his death, opposition leader Guy Brice Parfait Kolélas spoke out against persecution and electoral fraud during the Congo's 2021 election. Before his passing, Kolélas released a video in which he accused Sassou Nguesso's government of vote fraud and intimidation. He promoted election transparency and coalition building, which enhanced the appeal of the opposition. In addition to ongoing urban infrastructure projects, the Sassou Nguesso administration opened Université Denis Sassou-Nguesso in 2021. Although there are numerous efforts, Congo's healthcare system faces challenges, with notable disparities in access between rural and urban areas. Despite its achievements, the administration faces accusations of inequality, corruption, and institutional decay, particularly in the southern provinces. Beyond term limits, authoritarian African dictators use institutional brutality, disintegration, and oppression to cause widespread suffering to anyone who opposes them. Authorities have overseen killings, torture, and economic collapse from Uganda to Chad, with tragic human consequences. Amnesty International confirmed numerous violations, and Hissène Habré's dictatorship alone saw the execution of 40,000 people in Chad's prisons. These actions violate both Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Articles 4 and 5 of the African Charter. Such regimes threaten opponents with violence and arrest, destroy institutions, and eliminate term limits. Leaders like Sassou Nguesso and Museveni advocate for rule extensions as a defence against external threats and instability. They fear prosecution, retaliation, or exile if political rivals take control and investigate past wrongdoings by the government. Foreign funders continue to support them, prioritising regional stability, economic access, and counterterrorism over their human rights pledges. Despite the African Union (AU) and UN resolutions, long-standing authoritarian governments continue to practice mass killings, torture, and censorship. The African Charter, the UN Torture Convention, and the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act all contain democratic and legal norms that these governments violate. An estimated 210,000 civilians were killed under the leadership of four former presidents: Macías Nguema (Equatorial Guinea), Idi Amin (Uganda), Siad Barre (Somalia), and Hissène Habré (Chad). Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
DW
19-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Who killed Patrice Lumumba, DR Congo's first prime minister? – DW – 06/18/2025
For Juliana Lumumba, Patrice Lumumba wasn't just an independence leader and politician. He has her father. That's why she continues to call for the truth about Lumumba's assassination 64 years ago. For more than 60 years, Juliana Lumumba has had questions. Who murdered her father? How did the Americans help? What did the United Nations do? Did they stand idly by, even though he was under their protection? They are uncomfortable questions, political questions. And Juliana will not rest until she has answers. "You cannot be the child of Patrice Lumumba without this impacting your life" she says. Her gaze is composed as she looks out of the window of her house in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba murder case could go to trial On June 17, the Belgian federal prosecutor's office announced that it has requested that the case in connection with the assassination of Juliana's father be referred to a Brussels criminal court. It follows more than a decade of investigation. On Congo's independence day in 1960, Patrice Lumumba spoke about the atrocities inflicted on Congolese people under Belgian colonial rule, angering King Baudouin (in white) Image: Belga/IMAGO The Belgian state is partly responsible for the murder. A 2001 parliamentary investigation established that King Baudouin, Belgium's then-monarch, knew about the assassination plan but did nothing to stop it. Juliana's brother Francois, the plaintiff in a 2011 complaint, accused the Belgian state of war crimes and torture, and of having been part of a conspiracy aimed at the political and physical elimination of his father. Lumumba fought for the Congo's independence On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba freed the Congo from Belgian colonial rule and became the country's first prime minister. He promised democracy, prosperity and an end to the exploitation of Congolese minerals by foreign powers. But that never happened. The West – in particular Belgium and the US — opposed Lumumba's plans to nationalize Congo's raw materials and his proximity with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War. On January 17, 1961, half a year after Lumumba was elected the first prime minister of a free Congo, Congolese separatists took him to the hostile province of Katanga – with Belgian and American blessing. Lumumba and two of his aides were shot in the forest under the command of Belgian officers. The facts only came to light thanks to investigations by the likes of Belgian sociologist and writer, Ludo De Witte, whose findings were detailed in his 2003 book, "The Assassination of Lumumba." Patrice Lumumba gives a press conference in Leopoldville in August 1960. He would be dead 5 months later at only 35. Image: AFP Another Belgian officer, Gerard Soete, sawed the bodies in pieces and dissolved them in sulfuric acid. Two teeth were all that remained of Lumumba. Soete kept them as a trophy. Juliana learned about this on television, in a 2000 report on a German broadcaster in which Soete himself recounted the details and held the teeth into the camera. This gruesome memory still angers Juliana. "How would you feel if they told you that your father was not only killed, buried, unburied, cut in pieces but they also took parts of his body?", she asks. "To many, he was the first prime minister of the Congo, a national hero. But for me, he's my father." Still fighting for the truth Years later, Juliana wrote a letter to the Belgian king demanding one of the teeth be returned. No one knows where the second one is. Soete had claimed that he had thrown it into the North Sea. He died shortly after, but later his daughter showed the golden tooth to a journalist. Ludo De Witte then sued her and Belgian authorities confiscated the remains. Lumumba's children at the ceremony in Brussels, receiving the last remains of their father Image: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP In 2022, then prime minister Alexander de Croo returned the tooth to Lumumba's children at a ceremony in Brussels and apologized – unlike King Philippe, a direct descendant of King Baudouin, who did not utter the word "sorry." He merely expressed his "deepest regrets" for the violence inflicted on the Congolese people under Belgian rule. But apologies are not the point for Juliana. "It's not a problem of apology. It's a problem of truth. Verité," she says. "I need to know the truth." Growing up in exile When her father was murdered, Juliana was just five years old. She learned of it while in exile in Egypt. A few months before Lumumba's assassination, she and her siblings were smuggled out of their house in Congo, where their father was placed under house arrest, and taken to Cairo with fake passports. Patrice Lumumba knew he was going to die, Juliana says. He also hinted at it in his last letter to his wife. In Cairo, Lumumba's children grew up with Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ishak, a diplomat and friend of Lumumba. But they couldn't escape their own history. "We are a political family," says Juliana. "We came to Egypt for political reasons, hosted by President Nasser. Politics is the core of our lives, whether we like it or not." The children also entered politics. Juliana held various ministerial posts, and her brother Francois is the leader of the Congolese National Movement, the party his father founded. In 2022, Patrice Lumumba was finally laid to rest in a ceremony in Kinshasa Image: Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP Photo/picture alliance Juliana says that she always knew that her father's assassination was political, even when she was still a child in Cairo. The news of Lumumba's death in 1961 spread quickly in the city. "They set fire to the library of the American university and looted the Belgian embassy," she recalls. "People in the streets shouted 'Lumumba, Lumumba.'" Guilt, accountability and colonial continuities It wasn't until 1994, when Congo's Mobutu dictatorship was on the verge of collapse, that Juliana returned to her homeland after years in exile. This had been her father's wish. "He told us, no matter what happens, you have to come back home. So, when it was safe for us again, we came back home, where we belong," she says. Today, Juliana is less active in Congolese politics. She doesn't want to talk about the current situation, the conflict between the Congolese army and the rebel militia M23, or the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by Western nations, China, Rwanda, and other foreign powers. Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, wants justice for her father. Image: privat Nor does she want to speak about the potential trial in Brussels of the last living suspect who might have been complicit in her father's killing, 92-year-old Etienne Davignon. A former top Belgian diplomat, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission, Davignon is the last of 10 Belgians who were accused of involvement in the murder in the 2011 lawsuit filed by the Lumumba children. With little progress in over six decades, Juliana is losing hope that someone will finally face justice for her father's death. "No one has been held accountable. No Belgian, no European, no Congolese. No white, no Black. Everybody agrees that there was an assassination. There is a crime. But nobody has done it," she says. On July 2, 2025, Patrice Lumumba would have been 100 years old. Edited by Stuart Braun
DW
18-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Who killed Patrice Lumumba? – DW – 06/18/2025
For Juliana Lumumba, he was not just a politician: Patrice Lumumba was her father. That's why she continues to demand the truth about an assassination for which no one has faced justice. For more than 60 years, Juliana Lumumba has had questions. Who murdered her father? How did the Americans help? What did the United Nations do? Did they stand by idly, even though he was under their protection? They are uncomfortable questions, political questions. And Juliana will not rest until she has answers. "You cannot be the child of Patrice Lumumba without this impacting your life" she says. Her gaze is composed as she looks out of the window of her house in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba murder case could go to trial On June 17, the Belgian federal prosecutor's office announced that it has requested that the case in connection with the assassination of Juliana's father be referred to a Brussels criminal court. It follows more than a decade of investigation. On Congo's independence day in 1960, Patrice Lumumba spoke about the atrocities inflicted on Congolese people under Belgian colonial rule, angering King Baudouin (in white) Image: Belga/IMAGO The Belgiumstate is partly responsible for the murder. A 2001 parliamentary investigation established that King Baudouin, the then Belgian monarch, knew about the assassination plan but did nothing to stop it. Juliana's brother François, the plaintiff in a 2011 complaint, accused the Belgian state of war crimes and torture, and of having been part of a conspiracy aimed at the political and physical elimination of his father. Lumumba fought for the Congo's independence On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba freed the Congo from Belgian colonial rule and became the country's first prime minister. He promised democracy, prosperity and an end to the exploitation of Congolese minerals by foreign powers. But that never happened. The West – in particular Belgium and the USA — were not fond of Lumumba's plans to nationalize Congo's raw materials. And certainly not of him cozying up with the Soviet Union in the midst of the Cold War. On January 17, 1961, half a year after Lumumba was elected the first prime minister of a free Congo, Congolese separatists took him to the hostile province of Katanga – with Belgian and American blessing. Lumumba and two of his aides were shot in the forest under the command of Belgian officers. The facts only came to light thanks to investigations by the likes of Belgian sociologist and writer, Ludo De Witte, whose findings were detailed in the 2003 book, "The Assassination of Lumumba." Patrice Lumumba gives a press conference in Leopoldville in August 1960. He would dead 5 months later. Image: AFP Another Belgian officer, Gérard Soete, sawed the bodies in pieces and dissolved them in sulfuric acid. Two teeth were all that remained of Lumumba. Soete kept them as a trophy. Juliana learned about this on television, in a 2000 report on a German broadcaster in which Soete himself recounted the details and held the teeth into the camera. This gruesome memory still angers Juliana. "How would you feel if they told you that your father was not only killed, buried, unburied, cut in pieces but they also took parts of his body?", she asks. "To many, he was the first prime minister of the Congo, a national hero. But for me, he's my father." Still fighting for the truth Years later, Juliana wrote a letter to the Belgian king demanding one of the teeth be returned. No one knows where the second one is. Soete had claimed that he had thrown it into the North Sea. He died shortly after, but later his daughter showed the golden tooth to a journalist. Ludo De Witte then sued her and Belgian authorities confiscated the remains. Lumumba's children at the ceremony in Brussels, receiving the last remains of their father Image: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/AFP In 2022, then prime minister Alexander de Croo returned the tooth to Lumumba's children at a ceremony in Brussels and apologized – unlike King Philippe, a direct descendant of King Baudouin, who apparently could not utter the word "sorry." He merely expressed his "deepest regrets" for the violence inflicted on the Congolese people under Belgian rule. But apologies are not enough for Juliana. "It's not a problem of apology. It's a problem of truth. Verité," she says. "I need to know the truth." Growing up in exile When her father was murdered, Juliana was just five years old. She learned of it while in exile in Egypt. A few months before Lumumba's assassination, she and her siblings were smuggled out of their house in Congo, where their father was placed under house arrest, and taken to Cairo with fake passports. Patrice Lumumba knew he was going to die, Juliana says. He also hinted at it in his last letter to his wife. In Cairo, Lumumba's children grew up with Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ishak, a diplomat and friend of Lumumba. But they couldn't escape their own history. "We are a political family, says Juliana. "We came to Egypt for political reasons, hosted by President Nasser. Politics is the core of our lives, whether we like it or not." The children also entered politics. Juliana held various ministerial posts, and her brother François is the leader of the Congolese National Movement, the party his father founded. In 2022, Patrice Lumumba was finally laid to rest in a ceremony in Kinshasa Image: Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/AP Photo/picture alliance Juliana says that she always knew that her father's assassination was political, even when she was still a child in Cairo. The news of Lumumba's death in 1961 spread quickly in the city. "They set fire to the library of the American university and looted the Belgian embassy," she recalls. "People in the streets shouted 'Lumumba, Lumumba.'" Guilt, accountability and colonial continuities It wasn't until 1994, when Congo's Mobutu dictatorship was on the verge of collapse, that Juliana returned to her homeland after years in exile. This had been her father's wish. "He told us, no matter what happens, you have to come back home. So, when it was safe for us again, we came back home, where we belong," she says. Today, Juliana is less active in Congolese politics. She doesn't want to talk about the current situation, the conflict between the Congolese army and the rebel militia M23, or the ongoing exploitation of natural resources by the Western nations, China, Rwanda, and other foreign powers. Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of Patrice Lumumba, in her home in Kinshasa Image: privat Nor does she want to speak about the potential trial in Brussels of the last living suspect who might have been complicit in her father's killing, 92-year-old Etienne Davignon. A former top Belgian diplomat, businessman and former vice-president of the European Commission, Davignon is the last of 10 Belgians who were accused of involvement in the murder in the 2011 lawsuit filed by the Lumumba children. With little progress in over six decades, Juliana is losing hope that someone will finally face justice for her father's death. "No one has been held accountable. No Belgian, no European, no Congolese. No white, no Black. Everybody agrees that there was an assassination. There is a crime. But nobody has done it," she says. On July 2, 2025, Patrice Lumumba would have been 100 years old. Edited by Stuart Braun
