Amma Fosuah Poku · THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 17th January 1961 (by Amma Fosuah Poku) Patrice Lumumba, first Prime Minister of Congo, was assassinated along with Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo the 32 year old Sports and Youth Minister in Lumumba’s government and 50 year old Joseph Okito, Vice-President of the senate. Following independence a coalition government was formed. Days later, Africans in the army rebelled. This was the start of the Crisis in the Congo. The Belgian government sent troops to the Congo less than 10 days after independence. With the support of the Belgians Katanga in the south of Congo was declared an independent state by Moise Tshombe. At the request of Lumumba, the United Nations (UN) intervened and sent troops to the Congo, but there was immediately disagreement between the UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjöld, and Lumumba about the role of the UN. Lumumba wanted UN troops to intervene and retake Katanga, ensuring the unity of the Congo. Hammarskjöld refused. The South Kasai region also pursued secession. Frustrated by the UN response Lumumba sought military assistance from the Soviet Union. This action reinforced the determination of western powers, particularly the United States (US) to eliminate Lumumba. On 14th September with help from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Chief of Staff of the Armee Nationale Congolaise, the Congolese Army, Joseph Mobutu seized power in a military coup d’état. Lumumba had only appointed Mobutu a few weeks earlier. The coup led to a dictatorship led by Mobutu lasting more than 30 years. Following the coup Lumumba was placed under house arrest by Mobutu and guarded by UN troops to protect him. However, Lumumba escaped and travelled the country to drum up support among the people. Unfortunately, he was re-arrested on 1st December 1960. Following his capture Lumumba sought protection from UN troops but they refused to assist him. Instead, Lumumba was subjected to harassment in full public glare. His humiliating treatment was even recorded by journalists. Lumumba was taken with Mpolo and Okito, his two closest allies, to Katanga where they were assassinated by a firing squad, which included Belgian officers. It is widely accepted that following the assassinations the bodies of Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito were cut into pieces and dissolved in acid or burnt by the Belgians. The death of Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito was not made public until three weeks after they had been killed. Full details of the assassinations were not revealed until more than 10 years later when evidence emerged about the central role played by the CIA. The following quote by Lumumba was made in October 1960: Dead, living, free, or in prison on the orders of the colonialists, it is not I who counts. It is the Congo, it is our people for whom independence has been transformed into a cage where we are regarded from the outside… History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets... a history of glory and dignity. The video clip below contains footage of Lumumba giving a speech at the independence ceremony for Congo. Many believe that Lumumba signed his own death warrant with this speech: https://youtube/watch?v=DGdf7wX-E7g
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 19:21:21 +0000
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