On June 30, 2022, Sixty-one years after his death, a funeral was held in Kinshasa for the great man, Patrice Lumumba.
Patrice Lumumba was the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first post-independence leader. Sadly, only his tooth, the only remaining part of his body, was available for the his funeral.
His family only had his tooth returned by Belgian authorities.
Lumumba was arrested and killed during a rebellion in Katanga.. His body was dissolved in acid but only his gold-capped tooth 'survived'. This was kept as a memento by one of his killers.
Patrice Lumumba was the founder and leader of the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). He was prominent in the fight for Congo's independence from Belgium. He was the first democratically elected leader of the country.
7 Top Patrice Lumumba quotes
1. The only thing which we wanted for our country is the right to a worthy life, to dignity without pretence, to independence without restrictions. This was never the desire of the Belgian colonialists and their Western allies.
2. Political independence has no meaning if it is not accompanied by rapid economic and social development.
3. A minimum of comfort is necessary for the practice of virtue.
4. Without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence there are no free men.
5. We know that Africa is neither French, nor British, nor American, nor Russian, that it is African. We know the objects of the West. Yesterday they divided us on the level of a tribe, clan and village…They want to create antagonistic blocs.
6. No one is perfect in this imperfect world.
7. The day will come when history will speak. But it will not be the history which will be taught in Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations…Africa will write its own history and in both north and south it will be a history of glory and dignity.
