Patrice Lumumba: The Embattled Hero And What Africa Could Have Become

Patrice Lumumba led Congo to independence under the colonial rule of Belgium, the remnant of the embattled Congolese hero was return to his home country long after he was shot dead by firing squad with the backing of Belgium colonial power. Lumumba headed the cabinet that oversaw the independence of Congo aged 34, at that time, just about time in Africa where colonial rule was at its peak, and Africans are treated less humans in their own countries in the disguise, and exchange for civilization, what hugely play down on the direction and what Africa could have become without defects and ills of colonial officials to massively extorts and subjugate Africans.

During the handover power in June 1960, King Baudouin credited his ancestor, Leopold II, as the sole “civiliser” of the country- Congo. He failed to mention the millions who died under his reign what then known as Congo Free State as his personal property, and a great number of people that were dehumanized. Lumumba became a threat to Belgian officials after the independence of Congo, when he offhandedly talked about brutality of the colonial rule “the humiliating slavery that was imposed on us by force”, – as regards to the time of Belgium colonial rule, they were gutted by his audacity to stand brave and condemn the era of colonial power, then he had already fallen out with the colonial officials which give rise to plot against his life.

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Patrice Lumumba had already gaining momentum with the vision of fixing his country into the right direction, according to academic Ludo De Witte, with Lumumba audacious speech he was described as an illiterate thief in the Belgian press, as his comments were viewed in Belgium as having humiliated the king and Belgian officials. His death was planned especially when he started aligning with the then Soviet Union which had different ideologies with the west, he then made himself available to be pursued as someone that must be eliminated.

When her daughter starts demanding for the remnant of his father, for years Lumumba family did not know what exactly happened to their father. After he was shot, there was total destruction of his body in a bid to complete deny his existence and obliterate him from the memory. His daughter was the brainchild behind the campaign to return his tooth, and went to Brussel to receive it. There was father-daughter relationship that existed between Patrice Lumumba and young Juliana Lumumba, and she recalled how she has access to her father office and very often watch him work. The burial of the tooth planned to coincide with the 62^nd anniversary of Lumumba’s famous independence speech, which will give a sense of relieve and reassurance for better beginning.

Although, Africa is still far from the vision of nationalists who had brought Africa to where they are today, the vision of new Africa and what Africa could have become is not portrayed in this recent time where Africa is loosening in their grid and nothing unique is joining them together today, they are disunited on the struggle and idea of pan Africanism, but united in grief, economic woes, insecurity, bad governance and backwardness.