Patrice Lumumba:An African liberation leader for our times

Patrice Lumumba:An African liberation leader for our times

“We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.”

The Belgians expected mild-mannered obedience from their colonial subjects, but Patrice Lumumba confronted them directly. 

People from the 1960’s will remember that the Philippines sent a air force unit in Congo in the so-called mandate from the United Nations. The same way, the Philippine armed forces sent troops to intervene in Korea and other places like East Timor and Israel-Beirut borders.

Freedom fighter and nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by imperialist forces 50 years ago Jan. 17. Along with Lumumba, the post-independence aspirations of the Congolese people for a unified, economically independent Congo were also crushed, although his example continues to inspire revolutionaries around the world.

The region now known as the Congo was a Belgian colony called the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908, and the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960. Independence in 1960 was followed by civil war and an intervention by the United Nations to bring peace—a story all too familiar to us in 2011.

In the midst of this grave crisis, a great leader emerged from the struggle for liberation. His name was Patrice Lumumba. The Belgians expected mild mannered obedience from their colonial subjects. However, after being elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba gave a fiery speech confronting the Belgian colonialists directly, sending shockwaves throughout the imperialist camp.

Fearless Leader

The fearlessness of Lumumba in confronting the enemies of the people head-on and articulating an alternative vision captured the imaginations of scores of the newly independent Congolese. When other leaders buckled under intense pressure, Lumumba was bold and decisive. It was these leadership qualities in addition to his insistence on unconditional self-determination that made him the target of a Western-led assassination plot.

Although some of the details are still murky, we know that the United States played a role in the volatile atmosphere that led to the murder of Lumumba. We also know that the Central Intelligence Agency had planned to neutralize the Congolese leader.

His body was burned  by a special Belgian mercenary troops and can never not be found. Like other African leader like Captain Sankara and other national liberation struggle figures, the colonialist and their puppets wants to get rid of their bodies so people cannot make symbols of them.

After Lumumba's death, the Congo quickly disintegrated into competing regional and ethnic factions. A Western-backed dictator and former confidant of Lumumba's, Mobutu Sese Seko assumed the mantle of absolute ruler in a military coup and held onto it for decades until he himself was overthrown in an insurrection years later. 

In his life, Lumumba was a soldier in the cause of unity and social progress. He developed his leadership and organizational skills as a trade unionist, educator and writer. In the midst of a world revolution against colonialism, Lumumba became increasingly involved in the anti-colonial struggles of his own country.

Anti Imperialist

Lumumba was compelled by the global political environment to create a radical nationalist party which promoted national unity and economic sovereignty. He was also deeply influenced by pan-Africanist ideals and attended the All-African People's Conference in Accra, Ghana, hosted by revolutionary leader, Kwame Nkrumah.

The assassination of Lumumba created a crisis that the Congo has not yet overcome. In the absence of his leadership, imperialists were able to take advantage of internal divisions and their close relations with Mobutu to steal resource wealth and build a staging base for counterrevolution in Central Africa. The Congo is now a neo-colonial state serving the exclusive interests of multinational corporations and financial institutions.

Meanwhile, millions of Congolese people have died in conflicts over land and resources. Instead of the vision Lumumba once represented, the Congolese have turned toward ethno-nationalist or millenarian religious movements to defend their families and survive. Civil wars and brutal upsurges for ethnic or religious “purity” have replaced the national and popular anti-colonial movements that once inspired progressives and revolutionaries worldwide.

On the 50th anniversary of Patrice Lumumba's assassination, we must remember the principles and exemplary leadership model he provided for contemporary struggles in the Congo and Africa in general. The parallels between the moment of crisis in the early 60's and now are inescapable.

To resolve the current leadership crisis, new visionaries and organizations must emerge from popular working-class movements rejecting neo-colonialism and offering a transcendent vision of economic sovereignty and national unity. There are already efforts throughout Africa to unite the working class and inspire a new generation of leaders to challenge comprador elites and unite people across regional and ethnic differences.

We honor our martyrs in the cause of liberation best when new cadres join the struggle against imperialism. Long live the legacy of Patrice Lumumba! The torch he and other freedom fighters lit will never be extinguished!

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