The Two Different Congolese Leaders: A Martyr or a Tyrant?
“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.” Patrice Lumumba, 1960.
Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of Congo
Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of Congo
The modern history of Congo cannot be told without mentioning Patrice Émery Lumumba (In short, Patrice Lumumba). He is a martyr and the first legally elected prime minister of Congo, who sacrificed his life in an effort to save his nation. However, his endeavors did not have fruitful endings. The former United States president, Dwight Eisenhower might have been involved in Lumumba’s assassination. Before the independence of Congo, Western nations, such as Belgium and the United Sates, manipulated the opulent natural resources of the African nation. The Western believed they would still be able to have profits from the natural resources in Congo. Therefore, they were not much against the zeal for independence. However, when the Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba, showed up, and insisted on driving Western interests out of his and his nation’s land, the Western were threatened.
Belgium began a plan to get rid of Patrice Lumumba. There is no exact evidence that the United States was involved as well. However, many highly suspect that CIA(Central Intelligence Agency) and even the former president Dwight Eisenhower cooperated to assassinate the first prime minister of Congo. There is an unofficial record, which was disclosed from an interview with Robert Johnson, the minute taker of Eisenhower. Johnson stated that the President Eisenhower addressed Patrice Lumumba should be dead. Even though whether the former president was also a part of the assassination is questionable, many believe with higher certainty that CIA was indeed included in the plan. There are some strong evidences to back up this conjecture. Those include the fact that most of the purported American diplomats who were in Congo at the time when Patrice Lumumba was killed were actually CIA agents. The other motivation for the United States to pick on Patrice Lumumba was the Cold War. Afraid that Patrice Lumumba, who is hostile toward the United States, would support the Soviet Union, the United States perhaps decided to dismantle the land. Patrice Lumumba was killed on January 18, 1961. In the surface, it was the group of Congolese rivals who assassinated Lumumba. However, the truth might be Belgium and the United States helping the riot financially to sabotage the Congolese politics.
Belgium began a plan to get rid of Patrice Lumumba. There is no exact evidence that the United States was involved as well. However, many highly suspect that CIA(Central Intelligence Agency) and even the former president Dwight Eisenhower cooperated to assassinate the first prime minister of Congo. There is an unofficial record, which was disclosed from an interview with Robert Johnson, the minute taker of Eisenhower. Johnson stated that the President Eisenhower addressed Patrice Lumumba should be dead. Even though whether the former president was also a part of the assassination is questionable, many believe with higher certainty that CIA was indeed included in the plan. There are some strong evidences to back up this conjecture. Those include the fact that most of the purported American diplomats who were in Congo at the time when Patrice Lumumba was killed were actually CIA agents. The other motivation for the United States to pick on Patrice Lumumba was the Cold War. Afraid that Patrice Lumumba, who is hostile toward the United States, would support the Soviet Union, the United States perhaps decided to dismantle the land. Patrice Lumumba was killed on January 18, 1961. In the surface, it was the group of Congolese rivals who assassinated Lumumba. However, the truth might be Belgium and the United States helping the riot financially to sabotage the Congolese politics.
After the death of Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga(In short, Mobutu Sese Seke) succeeded his role. However, unlike the former Prime Minister, Mobutu Sese Seke was ardently advocated from the two Western nations. Seke was not only benevolent to the two nations, but also benevolent to himself. Seke, the tyrant, built a luxurious villa for himself while his people were starving. He often made senseless decisions, such as not allowing the citizen to put on Western jackets and ties. During his time, the entire nation of Congo was in chaos. Oppression overruled regulations. Even though Patrice Lumumba was in term for too short a period to assess his leadership, many historians imagined Congo with brighter present had Lumumba stayed in his role. Many historians also criticize Belgium and the United States to be partially responsible for Congo’s desperate status quo.
Sese Seko, the successor of Lumumba