Patrice Lumumba
First prime minister of the independent Congo and pan-African martyr.
Patrice Émery Lumumba was born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa on 2 July 1925 and died on 17 January 1961. A Congolese politician, independence leader, and revolutionary, he became the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic—today the Democratic Republic of the Congo—serving from June to September 1960 after his party won the May 1960 election. From 1958 until his assassination, he led the Congolese National Movement (MNC). An African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he was central to the Congo’s shift from Belgian colony to independent republic.
Soon after independence in June 1960, an army mutiny sparked the Congo Crisis. Katanga and South Kasai declared independence, and Lumumba sent the Congolese army to stop the secessions. This led to a political crisis: President Joseph Kasa-Vubu dismissed Lumumba and his government, followed by a coup by Mobutu Sese Seko. Lumumba tried to escape to Stanleyville to join supporters who had formed the anti-Mobutu Free Republic of the Congo, but state authorities under Mobutu captured him. He was sent to Elisabethville in Katanga, where separatist authorities under Moïse Tshombe, alongside Belgian mercenaries, tortured and executed him. His body was dissolved in acid. In 2002, Belgium formally apologised, admitting “moral responsibility” for his execution. In 2022, the Belgian government returned one of his teeth to his family. Lumumba is widely seen as a martyr for anti-colonial liberation and the pan-African movement.
Lumumba was born in Onalua, in the Katakokombe region of Kasaï province, Belgian Congo, to Julienne Wamato Lomendja and farmer François Tolenga Otetshima. He was a member of the Tetela ethnic group, known as Élias Okit'Asombo; his original surname means “heir of the cursed” in Tetela. He had three brothers—Charles Lokolonga, Émile Kalema, and Louis Onema Pene Lumumba—and a half-brother, Jean Tolenga. Raised Catholic, he attended a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and a government post office training school, passing the one-year course with distinction. Known as a vocal, precocious youth, he often corrected his teachers in front of classmates—a trait that defined his life. He spoke Tetela, French, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba.
Outside school, he was drawn to Enlightenment thinkers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, as well as Molière and Victor Hugo. He wrote poetry with anti-imperialist themes. He worked as a travelling beer salesman in Léopoldville and as a postal clerk in Stanleyville for eleven years. He married three times: Henriette Maletaua in 1945 (divorced 1947), Hortense Sombosia in 1947 (divorced 1951), and Pauline Opangu in 1951, who was 14 at the time. While still married to Hortense, he had an affair with Pauline Kie, with whom he had a son, François Lumumba; he remained close to Kie until his death.
After World War II, young African leaders increasingly pursued national goals and independence. In 1952, Lumumba became personal assistant to French sociologist Pierre Clément, who was studying Stanleyville. That year, he co-founded and became president of a Stanleyville chapter of the Association des Anciens élèves des pères de Scheut (ADAPÉS), though he had never attended a Scheut school. In 1955, he became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium, editing and distributing party literature. Between 1956 and 1957, he wrote his autobiography (published posthumously in 1962). After a study tour in Belgium in 1956, he was arrested for embezzling $2,500 from the post office, convicted, and sentenced to 12 months in prison and a fine.
After his release, Lumumba helped found the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) in 1958 and quickly became its leader. Unlike other Congolese parties, the MNC was not based on a single ethnic group. Its platform called for independence, gradual Africanisation of government, state-led economic development, and foreign neutrality. Lumumba’s large popular following gave him more political autonomy than contemporaries who relied on Belgian connections. He represented the MNC at the All-African Peoples’ Conference in Accra, Ghana, in December 1958, hosted by President Kwame Nkrumah, who was impressed by Lumumba’s intelligence and ability. There, Lumumba strengthened his pan-Africanist stance.
In 1959, the MNC split into the majority MNC-L, led by Lumumba, and the more radical, federalist MNC-K. In late October 1959, Lumumba was arrested for inciting an anti-colonial riot in Stanleyville.
- born
- 2 July 1925, Onalua, Katakokombe region, Kasaï province, Belgian Congo
- died
- 17 January 1961, Elisabethville, Katanga
- field
- Politics, independence movement
- nationality
- Congolese
- known_for
- First prime minister of the independent Congo; leader of the Congolese National Movement; assassination and martyrdom
Lore & Background
Lumumba was born on 2 July 1925 as Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa to Julienne Wamato Lomendja and her husband, François Tolenga Otetshima, a farmer, in Onalua, in the Katakokombe region of the Kasaï province of the Belgian Congo. He was a member of the Tetela ethnic group, where he was referred to with the name Élias Okit'Asombo. He had three brothers (Charles Lokolonga, Émile Kalema, and Louis Onema Pene Lumumba) and one half-brother (Jean Tolenga). Raised in a Catholic family, he was educated at a Protestant primary school, a Catholic missionary school, and finally the government post office training school. He spoke Tetela, French, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba. He worked as a travelling beer salesman in Léopoldville and as a postal clerk in Stanleyville for eleven years. Lumumba married three times. He married his first wife Henriette Maletaua a year after arriving in Stanleyville in 1945; they divorced in 1947. In the same year, he married Hortense Sombosia, but this relationship also fell apart and they divorced in 1951. He began an affair with Pauline Kie while still married to Hortense. While he had no children with his first two wives, his relationship with Kie resulted in a son, François Lumumba. Though he remained close with Kie until his death, Lumumba ultimately ended their affair to marry Pauline Opangu in 1951, who was 14 years old at the time. In 1955, Lumumba became regional head of the Cercles of Stanleyville and joined the Liberal Party of Belgium. Between 1956 and 1957 he wrote his autobiography. After a study tour in Belgium in 1956, he was arrested on charges of embezzlement of $2500 from the post office. He was convicted and sentenced one year later to 12 months' imprisonment and a fine. After his release, Lumumba helped found the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) party in 1958 and quickly became the organisation's leader. In late October 1959, Lumumba, as leader of the MNC, was arrested for inciting an anti-colonial riot in Stanleyville during which 30 people were killed. He was sentenced to six months in prison. The trial's start date of 18 January 1960 was the first day of the Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels. Despite Lumumba's imprisonment, the MNC won a convincing majority in the December local elections in the Congo. As a result of strong pressure from delegates upset by Lumumba's trial, he was released and allowed to attend
Reader's Guide
Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, an army mutiny marked the beginning of the Congo Crisis. Both Katanga and South Kasai declared independence, which Lumumba responded to by sending the Congolese army to put down the secessions. This created a political crisis that resulted in then President Joseph Kasa-Vubu dismissing Lumumba and his government. This was followed by a coup led by Mobutu Sese Seko. Lumumba then attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu state called the Free Republic of the Congo, but he was captured by state authorities under Mobutu, and sent to Elisabethville in Katanga. He was tortured and later executed by the separatist Katangan authorities of Moïse Tshombe, alongside Belgian mercenaries. His body was later dissolved in acid. In 2002, Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution, admitting 'moral responsibility'. In 2022, Lumumba's tooth was returned by the Belgian government to his family. Lumumba is widely seen as a martyr for anti-colonial liberation and the pan-African movement.
Did You Know?
- Lumumba's original surname Okit'Asombo means 'heir of the cursed' in Tetela.
- He was influenced by the Enlightenment ideals of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, and was fond of Molière and Victor Hugo.
- Lumumba wrote poetry, many of his works having anti-imperialist themes.
- He co-founded a Stanleyville chapter of the Association des Anciens élèves des pères de Scheut (ADAPÉS) in 1952, even though he had never attended a Scheut school.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"We who suffered in our bodies and hearts from colonialist oppression, we say to you out loud: from now on, all that is over." — Patrice Lumumba "The new leaders of Africa Rolf Italiaander, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall 1690, p 159. Patrice Lumumba at the Ceremony of the Proclamation of the Congo's Independence in Leopoldville on June 30, 1960." — Patrice Lumumba "No one is perfect in this imperfect world." — Patrice Lumumba "Without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men." — Patrice Lumumba
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