LUMUMBA, PATRICE EMERY

Patrice Emery Lumumba (July 2, 1925-January 17, 1961), served as prime minister of the Congo during the tumultuous first months after independence on June 30, 1960. An ardent Congolese nationalist, he sought to preserve the integrity of a nation threatened by ethnic conflict, regional fragmentation, labour unrest, bureaucratic collapse, military mutinies, and international interference. Although these difficulties proved insurmountable, enabling his enemies to arrest and assassinate the prime minister, Lumumba is now revered as a heroic martyr who suffered and died for his country.

Born at Onalua village, 300 km (180 mi) northeast of Luluabourg (now Kananga) in the Katoko-Kombe territory of Kasai, Lumumba was of Tetela ethnic origins. After completing his primary education at a Catholic mission, in the early 1950s he became a postal clerk first in Yangambi, 80 km (50 mi) west-northwest of Stanleyville (now Kisangani) in Orientale province, and then in Stanleyville.

Settling in Stanleyville, Lumumba entered the ranks of the évolués (educated and Westernized) class of Africans. An insatiable reader, he continued his education by teaching himself a wide range of subjects including law, economics, and philosophy.

Lumumba sought and received immatriculation, a legal status giving him many rights otherwise reserved for Europeans. At that time, his political views were those of a moderate, as is evident from his book Congo My Country which he wrote during 1956-57, and which was published posthumously; he admired the achievements of the whites whom he tried to emulate. Nevertheless, he was deeply aware that Europeans rarely regarded Africans as their equals.

He read avidly during this period, and was the dominant personality among the Africans in Stanleyville. He was a correspondent of several newspapers, including La Croix du Congo, and La Voix d Congolais.

Lumumba showed great energy and organisational skill in numerous Stanleyville cultural, educational, and professional groups. In 1955, he became president of the provincial Association du Personnel Indigène (Association of Native Personnel, A.P.I.C.), president of a section of the Association des Anciens Elèves des Pères de Scheut (Association of Former Students of the Scheut Fathers, A.D.A.P.E.S.), and president of a Tetela ethnic group the Mutuelle des Tetela (Tetela Mutual). When Belgium’s King Baudouin made his first visit to the Congo in December 1955, Lumumba gained an audience with the monarch in Stanleyville.

In 1956, as secretary of the Amicale des Postiers Indi-gènes (Native Postal Workers Brotherhood), or A.P.I.C., for Orientale, Lumumba was elected president of A.P.I.C. for the entire Orientale province. He also became president of the Stanleyville Cercle des Evolués (Evolué Club), and president of the Belgo-Congolese cultural group. Also in 1956, Lumumba was chosen as a member of a Congolese delegation taken on a visit to Belgium.

Lumumba, however, had difficulty in Stanleyville when, on July 1, 1956, he was arrested and charged with misappropriating about $2,500 from the post office where he worked. Although Lumumba was judged guilty and given a prison sentence, he maintained his innocence and the local évolué community raised enough money to repay the entire sum and to provide for Lumumba’s family during the time he spent in jail. His two-year sentence was eventually reduced to 11 months.

In 1957, Lumumba moved to Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) where he worked as a salesman for the large Bracongo brewery which bottled Polar beer. Energetic and creative, Lumumba organised local Polar Clubs which sprang up all over the city. By August 1958 he had risen to become sales manager for the entire brewery.

Although Lumumba was immensely successful as an advertising agent, rapid changes in the Congo allowed him to use his organisational and promotional abilities in politics, an area just opening to Congolese. After having restructured urban areas to allow limited African participation in municipal affairs, the Belgian government held elections in December 1957 in Léopoldville’s African communes. Next, in July 1958, a Working Group of prominent Belgians was selected to examine political developments in the Congo and to make recommendations for the future.

The Working Group was due to arrive in Léopoldville in late October of 1958. Anticipating that event, on October 10, a group of leading Africans, including Patrice Lumumba, Cyrille Adoula, Joseph Ileo, Arthur Pinzi, Gaston Diomi, Joseph Ngalula, and Alphonse Nguvulu, addressed a petition to the Minister of the Congo, Léon Pétillon.

The petition criticised the fact that no Congolese had been appointed to the Working Group, called for immediate political reforms, and proposed a step-by-step plan for independence. Although the petitioners came from numerous political and ethnic groups, they presented themselves as the Mouvement National Congolais (M.N.C.).

This marked the first official act of the multi-ethnic M.N.C. political party. Originally, the M.N.C. had been intended as a temporary committee speaking only to the issue of the Working Group, but Lumumba succeeded in transforming the M.N.C. into a true political party with himself as president.

Other major events in 1958 had a profound impact on Congolese affairs. On August 24, in Brazzaville across the river from Léopoldville, General Charles de Gaulle offered complete independence for all territories under French rule. De Gaulle’s speech had tremendous appeal among the Congolese who began to think in terms of independence for themselves.

Also, in 1958, several hundred Congolese from all over the colony travelled to the International Exposition in Brussels. There, for the first time, they shared their views on the colonial situation. This European experience did much to develop among the Congolese, a more militant sensitivity to the problems they faced.

For Lumumba, however, the highpoint of 1958 came at the Pan-African People’s Conference held in Accra, Ghana, from December 5 to 13. Along with Gaston Diomi and Joseph Ngalula, Lumumba attended the meeting where he met Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Sékou Touré of Guinea, and Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast. Lumumba’s friendship with Nkrumah began at this time, and he became a convinced pan-Africanist.

On December 11, Lumumba gave a speech in which he appealed to the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man and to the United Nations Charter as indictments of colonialism. Noting the injustices of the past, he argued for an end to colonialism and called for a strong, united Congo. The work of colonialism he proclaimed, was almost finished and future relations with Europe would rest on cooperation instead of on domination.

Lumumba concluded with the words, Down with imperialism. Down with colonialism. Down with racism and tribalism. Long live the Congolese nation. Long live independent Africa.”” This conference marked the beginning of a close personal relationship between Nkrumah and Lumumba, who was elected to serve as a member of the Pan-African permanent council. Back in Léopoldville on December 28, Lumumba addressed a popular meeting attended by 7,000 people. There he boldly announced: “Independence is not a gift from Belgium, but a fundamental right of the Congolese people.”

On January 4, 1959, riots broke out in the capital. Although caused by unemployment and urban discontent the disturbances were blamed on the Abako party of Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Kasa-Vubu, along with Jean Bolikango, was arrested and sent to Belgium in an effort to avoid further tensions.

Partially in response to the riots, and partially as a result of the Working Group’s work, on January 13, 1959, both the Belgian government and King Baudouin made declarations about the Congo’s future. These statements promised independence in the not-too-distant future and envisioned a democratic Congolese interim government to implement independence. Following January 13, the colonial powers began allowing more African participation in local and colony-wide affairs.

Fluent in Lingala, French, and Swahili, Lumumba emerged in 1959 as one of the most dynamic and effective Congolese political organisers and orators. In early March, he traveled to Ibadan, Nigeria, to participate in International Week. On March 31, the M.N.C. set up a permanent office in Léopoldville’s Kinshasa commune. At that time, Lumumba declared the M.N.C. was in basic agreement with the Belgian government’s January 13 statements, which he accepted as a starting point for further negotiations. In April, 1959, a general Congress of Congolese political parties was held in Luluabourg.

Dominated by the M.N.C., the Congress set January 1, 1961 as the deadline for a provisional government. The Congress also passed motions calling for the Congo’s geographical unity, for chiefs and ethnic groups to submit themselves to larger political parties, for democratic elections and universal suffrage, and for economic assistance to Congolese artisans, merchants, farmers, and middle classes.

Without waiting for the Congress to adjourn, Lumumba went to Guinea for a meeting of the Pan-African Congress permanent council. By late April, he was in Brussels seeking the support of Jean Bolikango and Joseph Kasa-Vubu for the M.N.C. At the same time, he continued to make strong pronouncements about imperialism and Western exploitation of Africa. Back in Léopoldville, the other M.N.C. leaders re-affirmed the January 1961 date for independence, but in Brussels on May 11, Lumumba demanded that a Congolese government be formed in 1959.

Lumumba’s growing radicalism, independence, and prominence caused conflict with other M.N.C. leaders, especially Joseph Ileo. Ethnic differences also troubled the party, which sought to gain a nationwide constituency. At times the M.N.C, and Lumumba were cast as opponents of a prominent ethnic group simply because they gained support from that group’s local rival.

For example, the Luba people of Kasai mistrusted Lumumba because he tried to organise the majority Lulua population living around Luluabourg. As a result of these problems, on July 16, 1959, the M.N.C. central committee censured Lumumba for what they labeled personal politics.” Also on July 16, Ileo instituted organisational reforms in the M.N.C. which conferred specific duties on other party leaders at Lumumba’s expense.

When Lumumba replied with counter-charges, a split developed within the M.N.C. The split grew into a firm schism with one wing of the party being known as the M.N.C./Lumumba, and the other wing being known as the M.N.C./Kalonji, after a Luba Kasai spokesman, Albert Kalonji. Although Lumumba and Kalonji continued to cooperate on certain issues, increasingly Kalonji was identified with the group of politicians who advocated federation along ethnic lines.

Lumumba, on the other hand, continued to insist on a unitary government oblivious to ethnic differences. Federation, in his view, was simply a subterfuge for separatism and division. Despite their differences, however, Lumumba campaigned for the release of Kalonji when he was put under house arrest in 1959.

In the meantime, national elections were scheduled for December 1959. The purpose of the plebiscite was to choose Congolese people to sit on local and regional consultative councils which would assist European administrators in a slow transition towards independence.

Lumumba’s M.N.C., like Abako, mistrusted Belgian motives in holding these elections. On October 23-30, the M.N.C./Lumumba held a conference in Stanleyville, where the M.N.C. asked that the elections be postponed and that new talks be held between the Congolese and Belgians. After Lumumba spoke on the last day of the meeting, rioting broke out in Stanley-ville and more than 20 Africans were killed.

Lumumba was arrested for having incited the disorders and, on January 21, 1960, was sentenced to six months in jail. To completely remove Lumumba from politics, on January 22 the government secretly transferred him to Jadotville (now Likasi) in Katanga.

By the end of 1959, Belgian attempts to lead the Congo towards self-government seemed to have failed. Therefore, abandoning earlier schemes of implementing independence in gradual, imposed phases, the government arranged for a Round Table discussion in Brussels between Congolese and Belgian leaders to determine the colony’s future. When the Congolese delegates refused to participate unless Lumumba were present, the M.N.C. leader was released from jail and flown to Belgium.

At the Round Table, lasting from January 20 to February 20, 1960, Belgium agreed to accelerate decolonisation, which would be completed before July of the same year, Among the Congolese leaders, two opposing positions emerged concerning the nature of the future national constitution. The “federalists,” among them Moise Tshombe and Kasa-Vubu, called for strong regional states tied together under a moderate national government.

Lumumba and his allies, led by Gizenga of the Parti Solidaire Africain (P.S.A.) argued for a strongly unitary state. In general, the agreements reached at the Round Table favoured the unitarists.”” The Round Table further determined that, until independence, executive authority would be exercised by the governor general and a staff of six Congolese. Appointed to this executive college, Lumumba received the defense portfolio.

In April 1960, Lumumba visited Nkrumah in Accra, and returned home to announce that the Congo bore Belgium no ill will, but wanted justice and freedom. He also undertook to call a pan-African conference in Léopoldville in August 1960. Because of political difficulties in the Congo, however, the conference never materialised.

As independence drew near, the Belgian government dispatched additional armed forces to the Congo in order to ensure stability. Suspicious that the Belgians actually intended to use the troops for political purposes, on May 18 Lumumba called for an immediate withdrawal of metropolitan soldiers. When Belgium did not comply, Lumumba resigned from the executive college. Fearful of jeopardising his own political position, however, he soon returned to the college.

On May 21 and 22, nationwide elections were held to choose representatives for provincial assemblies and for the national legislature in Léopoldville. The M.N.C. was handicapped in these elections because, in April, Victor Nendeka, the M.N.C. vice chairman, had broken away from the party, accusing Lumumba of excessive left-wing leanings.

Nevertheless, the M.N.C. gained an overwhelming majority in the Orientale province assembly, acquired a position of strength in Kivu and Kasai provinces, and won 33 of 137 seats in the national House of Representatives. Lumumba, himself, was elected as a national deputy from Stanleyville. Although the M.N.C. had won more seats than its nearest rivals the P.S.A. (13 seats) and Abako (12 seats), Lumumba had far fewer votes than he needed to win a solid base of parliamentary support for his candidacy as prime minister.

When W.J. Ganshoff Van Der Meersch Belgian resident minister in the Congo from May to July 1960, first asked Lumumba to form a government, the M.N.C. leader sought to build a broad coalition. This effort failed after Tshombe’s Conakat party withdrew from the negotiations. But when Van Der Meersch approached Joseph Kasa-Vubu, he found the Abako leader even less able to construct a government on the diffuse groups represented in the assembly. After a second attempt, Lumumba was able to form a government which was confirmed by parliament on June 23, shortly before independence.

In the first cabinet, Lumumba held the post of minister of defense as well as the office of prime minister. As part of the compromise ensuring Lumumba’s victory, Kasa-Vubu was elected as the Congo’s first president.

On Independence Day, June 30, Lumumba gave an unęxpected, dramatic speech to the Congolese people and foreign officials celebrating the occasion. In the presence of King Baudouin, he described the struggle movement toward independence as involving bloodshed and violence. He also recounted the oppression, humiliation, and privation the Congolese had suffered during the 80 harsh years of colonialism. Calling on aid from all Congolese regardless of ethnic ties, on all elected officials no matter what their political party, and on foreign nations and peoples of goodwill, he pledged his administration would work to build the Congo into a rich, free, and prosperous nation. This, he asserted, would be a significant step towards liberating Africa as a whole.

Immediately after independence, overwhelming problems swept the country, making it impossible for Lumumba’s government to function effectively. On July 5, the Force Publique (national army) mutinied against its Belgian officer corps. On July 9, Belgian metropolitan troops intervened to guarantee the safety of Belgian lives and property. On July 11, Moise Tshombe declared Katanga (now Shaba) an independent state. Also during this time, thousands of Belgian businessmen, bureaucrats, and technicians fled the country.

On July 12, in conjunction with President Kasa-Vubu, Lumumba registered a complaint at the United Nations against Belgium, and on the same day the Congo broke diplomatic relations with the former coloniser. When Lumumba approached the American president asking for military assistance to restore order in the country, Eisenhower, at the suggestion of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, directed Lumumba to the U.N., which passed a resolution sending military aid to the Congo. On July 15, one day later, the first detachment of U.N. peace-keeping troops arrived to return order to the Congo.

A fierce defender of his country’s unity, Lumumba hoped to use the U.N. troops in place of the unmanageable Force Publique. When, however, the U.N. soldiers merely acted to maintain peace and refused to restore the secessionist Katanga, Lumumba made overtures to the U.S.S.R. and other Eastern bloc countries for help in preserving the Congo under a single government. In consequence, some Belgians regarded Lumumba as a communist.

After visiting the United Nations in New York in the last week in July, Lumumba re-visited Nkrumah in Accra in August, and they signed an accord for the Union of Ghana with the Congo.

Soon, the fragile relationship between the more conservative and cautious Kasa-Vubu and Lumumba broke down. On September 5, a serious constitutional crisis occurred as the president and the prime minister both dismissed each other. Although the House of Representatives refused to ratify these actions and attempted to reconcile the two leaders, Kasa-Vubu prevailed by gaining support from the U.N., which acknowledged his constitutional right to revoke the prime minister. When, however, Kasa-Vubu named Joseph Ileo to succeed Lumumba, parliament refused to accept Ileo’s cabinet.

As the deadlock continued, on September 14, Colonel Joseph Mobutu (now Mobutu Seke Seko) neutralised Kasa-Vubu, the government, and the two Houses of Parliament until December. On September 15, Lumumba himself was placed under house arrest in his official residence. On September 20, Mobutu named a college of commissioners, composed of university students, to act as a caretaker government in Lumumba’s stead.

Seeing power slipping from his grasp, Lumumba determined to leave Léopoldville and return to friendly Stanleyville. Although his house was surrounded by U.N, troops and by soldiers of the Armée Nationale Congolaise (A.N.C,-the name of the army was changed after the July mutiny), on the evening of November 27, Lumumba managed to slip out of custody by hiding on the floor of an M.N.C. station wagon which came to the house regularly. Together with his wife, small son, and several loyal politicians, Lumumba made his way by car out of Léopoldville in the direction of Kasai.

Although he managed to get within a few kilometers of friendly territory, on December I at about 11 P.M., Lumumba’s party was apprehended as it tried to cross the Sankuru River, 100 km (60 mi) east of Port Francqui (now Ilebo). Detained in accordance with a writ signed by Kasa-Vubu and high judiciary authorities, Lumumba and two companions, Joseph Okito, vice president of the Senate, and Maurice Mpolo, minister of youth, were mistreated and sent to Léopoldville. The following day, December 2, the three men were transferred to Camp Hardy (now Camp Ebeya) in Thysville (now Mbanza-Ngungu).

On January 17, 1961, a badly beaten Lumumba, Okito, and Mpolo were flown to Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi), the capital city of Tshombe’s Katanga state. The three captives were escorted from the plane by Katangan soldiers who took the men to a house near the airport.

Apparently, Lumumba was killed on the night of January 17. Although it is not certain how Lumumba’s body was disposed, most likely, he was buried in an unmarked grave near Elisabethville. The blame for the murder of Lumumba must be put on Kasa-Vubu and his colleagues in Léopoldville at the time, and on Tshombe, even though he denied it.

During the entire period he exercised power, Lumumba remained a fervent nationalist, deeply devoted to his country. Like his mentor Kwame Nkrumah, Lumumba believed that political independence needed to be based on economic and social freedom. Thus, he resisted all forms of outside control, calling instead on the Congolese to rely on their own strength. In death, Lumumba became a powerful anti-imperialist symbol. On June 30, 1966, he was proclaimed an official national hero and a martyr for Africa.

K. KHANG ZUBAL, NK.K.