He was a Zairian politician born in 1925 in the Sankuru district of Kasai province. His parents were strong Christians. He grew up among the white exploiters at Kisangani in the era of the twilight of imperialism.

He attended a Roman Catholic school and later on a protestant school. Like any other intelligent and promising youth, Lumumba largely educated himself. Read widely and with a purpose and was able to interpret most of the Marxist theories.

In 1955, he visited Belgium on a government sponsorship tour. He was also Chairman or secretary of seven associations to promote interests of the Congolese.

Lumumba joined the Belgian administration as a tax clerk. Later worked with the Post Office as an assistant postmaster in Kinshasa. Some money got lost in the post office and he was implicated. He was arrested and imprisoned.

After being released from prison in 1957, he started his political career.

His political activity started at Stanley Ville where he organised an African association for the welfare of workers. As president of the association, he started demanding for the increase of salary of his co‑workers.

In 1958, while director of a Belgian Brewery company, he led influential group of educated Africans and they wrote a memorandum to the Governor General of Belgian Congo demanding for complete independence of Congo.

This group of people (the educated Africans under Lumumba) organised themselves in a political party called Movement National Congolese (MNC). This political party had the aim of organizing the elite and the masses, control of public affairs, speeding the process of democratization, implementation of the fundamental rights of man and to free Congo from colonialism through peaceful means.

During the same year (1958), he led many delegates of the MNC to the Accra's "All Africa's People's Conference" that was organised by Nkrumah. He even became a member of the steering committee.

On his return to Kinshasa, he held a public meeting to report on the conference. On December 29^th 1958, he announced a new programme for MNC based on the Accra resolutions. They started demanding for complete and immediate independence of Congo.

On January 4^th 1959, he led a gigantic procession of strikes ‑ 30,000 unemployed people were organised under his leadership into a riot so as to force the King of Belgium to give immediate independence. Over 50 people were killed and 200 injured. Many leaders were arrested and detained.

During the same year, Lumumba traveled around Belgium addressing meetings, appearing on television and radio, preaching anti colonialism and advocating the release of prisoners. MNC split, but his position did not change i.e he became greater and greater.

Fearing his greatness on November 1 1959, the Belgian government arrested Lumumba and charged him for provoking a riot. He was imprisoned until January 1960 when he was released to attend a constitutional conference in Brussels. After this conference, political structures were set up; a programme for independence was made as well making a constitution for Congo.

Back home after the conference, Lumumba advocated for a strong unitary government as opposed to those who wanted Federalism like his greatest rival Kasavubu Joseph, the leader of the ABAKO party.

WAVE OF CONFIDENCE. Leopoldville, Congo: Flushed with victory, Congolese Premier Patrice Lumumba waves as he leaves the National Senate, Sept. 8th. Lumumba had just received a 41-2 vote of confidence

Elections were held between 11-25 May 1960 and Lumumba's MNC won 74 out of the 137 contested seats in the National Assembly.

When Congo became independent on 24^th June 1960, Lumumba formed a coalition government with several other political parties and he himself became the Prime Minister of Congo. His big rival Kasavubu became the constitutional president.

Just after five days of his rule, a mutiny in the Congolese army occurred. Belgian officers were murdered and to avert this situation, Belgium invaded the country in the name of protecting her nationals.

These Belgian soldiers together with the UN soldiers who had come on a peacekeeping mission allied together with Joseph Kasavubu, the biggest rival of Lumumba to cause the first coup in Congo.

In July Moishe Tshombe declared the break away of Katanga region with the assistance of Belgium. Matadi port and Kinshasa airport were seized. UN called for Belgian forces to leave Congo.

On 22, July 1960 he visited US and other independent African countries making inquiries on how to solve the problem at home. The UN was suing African soldiers from Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia to disarm Lumumba's soldiers. UN also refused Lumumba to use his radio station to communicate to his people and yet his rivals were free to use those facilities.

In August, Lumumba was in Ghana when he signed a secret agreement with Kwame Nkrumah providing for a political union between Congo and Ghana. This was to be a nucleus for a union of African States.

He also held a conference of independent African states in Kinshasa in August 25-30^th as away of starting the formation of African Union as well as resisting imperialism.

In a radio broadcast, Kasavubu openly announced that he had sacked Lumumba. After a short time Lumumba also announced the sacking of Kasavubu. Parliament supported Lumumba but the imperialist forces supported Kasavubu. Kasavubu adjourned parliament and Mobutu took over power through a coup in 1960.

Lumumba was arrested and confined to house and guarded by UN troops. He escaped to Kisangani but was rearrested.

Mrs Lumumba still mourning not only the father of her children but the father of Congo of as a nation. Those who killed him are well known.

This confusion went on until 13^th February 1961 when he was brutally murdered by the allied clique of the Belgians, UN forces, Moishe Tshombe and the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was only in February 2002 when Belgium apologized to the Congolese for killing Lumumba.

It is reasonable to conclude that imperialists realized that if Congo under Lumumba was given any breathing space to consolidate itself, then not only Congo but the rest of Africa and third world would be saved from imperialism, exploitation, foreign occupation and neo-colonialism.

Lumumba was a patriot, a fighter, a nation builder and not a racialist and occupies a honorably space in the gallery of pan African revolutionaries. His death has made him alive than ever before in the hearts and minds of millions of oppressed and exploited throughout the world. The unspoiled and forward-looking young generation of today is looking at him as a modal and hero of Africa.

 

Figure 88: Mrs Lumumba was living in Belgium in 2006