Expert: Patrice Lumumba's Legacy Endures & Resonates Across the World
14:52 GMT, 17 January 2023
January 17 marks the 62nd anniversary since the death of the Congolese independence leader and first democratically elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Patrice Lumumba. To mark the day, Sputnik asked an expert to recall the deeds, life, personality and legacy of DRC's national hero.
SputnikPatrice Lumumba's impact on the world is as powerful as ever, said Lyudmila Ponomarenko, a professor at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) and author of books about Lumumba, in an interview with Sputnik.
His deeds and vision, his personal viewpoints on various issues, still haven't lost their relevance and significance, his legacy continues, she explained.
"His image of the national hero of the DRC remains even in present-day conditions an example of self-sacrificing service to the people, to the very idea of liberation and development of Africa. Indeed, they [western leaders] wanted to bribe him, but they could not! He saw in the Congo an independent country capable of responding to the challenges of history that confronted it," she said.
According to the professor, Lumumba found a place of honor in the history of Africa in general, and of the Congo in particular as a symbol of the struggle of African nations for independence and a leader of the first national government of the country.
Lumumba's Role in DRC's Struggle for Independence
Born in the east of the Congo in an ordinary peasant family, Lumumba achieved all his success himself, Ponomarenko underlined - "and that was a lot."
After the Second World War, in many countries all over the world, especially in African states, there was an uptick in the national liberation movement. New independent African countries emerged on the global stage such as Guinea, Mali, and Ghana.
"Among the leaders of the new states, Lumumba was a very young leader who, despite his age, managed to create the most popular political party: the National Movement of the Congo, in the Belgian colony, which was a huge country of the size of all Western Europe," she stressed.
The main feature of the party he founded was its nationwide reach, while about 100 other parties in the Belgian Congo were mainly formed on an ethnic basis and defended only the interests of individual ethnic groups, not viewing the nation as a whole.
The path to independence was full of thorns and obstacles, she recalled. The country is very rich in minerals: "almost the entire periodic table is represented there, of course, Belgium did not want to give away these resources." At first, Lumumba highly appreciated European historical achievements and socio-political values, but over the years "he understood and realized that it was necessary to fight for independence." He wanted his people to be able to use the natural wealth of their own country.
In 1960, as a result of the negotiations in Brussels, a date for the declaration of independence was set. In July of the same year, during the ceremony of declaring the independence of the Belgian Congo, Lumumba delivered his speech to the nation.
"He said that independence was not just granted to his country by Belgium, but it was won at the cost of the lives of many Congolese. And these are not just empty words, since Belgian colonialism, if I may say so, was very harsh compared to the orders established in the French and British colonies," she argued.
According to the professor, at that time Lumumba was a young, very talented and hardworking leader "who truly believed in the triumph of justice." He spoke French well and many local languages and dialects. He had such human qualities "as sincerity, love for ordinary people, the ability to forgive," and sometimes, she added, he could be even gullible and naive - quite "a unique characteristic for a political leader."
Lumumba as Country's Leader & Friendship With USSR
Talking about the influence of global actors on the continent at that period, Ponomarenko stressed that the Soviet Union strongly supported the national liberation movements in Africa, while "the United States, on the contrary, was its ardent opponent." The
USSR supported the first independent government headed by Patrice Lumumba and did it at the global stage, primarily at the UN.
At the very beginning, Lumumba started to pursue an independent policy, and naturally, Ponomarenko emphasized, "the West did not need such a leader and head of the government". Therefore, the West began to oppose Lumumba. At first, he was invited to the United States, where he was told that he must give western companies access to all the minerals and resources of the country.
"Lumumba, on the contrary, wanted to introduce democratic principles and freedoms in the country, so that the population could use its natural wealth, get free education, free medical care, and so on. But he was not heard and understood in the West, which needed only the resources of the Congo," Ponomarenko highlighted.
After that, "creeping aggression" began against the national government of the country headed by Lumumba, the professor stated. He had to turn to the UN, to the "blue helmets", but "they essentially supported the former colonialists, the Belgians." Therefore, he was deeply disappointed with the actions of the UN.
As for the circumstances of his death, she recalled that for a long time no one knew about the fate of Lumumba, and the whole world was puzzled. The details of this
"terrible massacre" became clear and were made public after a thorough investigation only many years later. He was arrested and thrown into prison, and later, "was given to be torn to pieces by the worst enemy - Moise Tshombe."
These events resonated in
the Soviet Union, she says, where Lumumba's personality was highly appreciated, even though "the USSR did not have time to establish strong contacts with him." Lumumba did not have enough time to ask the USSR for help and support, although "if he had survived, he probably would have come to such a decision since he viewed the country and its leaders very positively."
"History had set very difficult tasks for Patrice Lumumba. He began to understand and gradually solve them, but did not have enough time to give comprehensive answers to all the challenges," she concluded.
Lumumba's Legacy in DRC & Beyond
Talking about the
current political situation in the DRC, the professor claimed that not much has changed in the country since the time of Lumumba. It is largely attributed to the fact that "politicians-puppets of the West have long been in power" in the Central African state. In a country with "great natural resources, hunger and poverty are still vividly present."
However, she underlined, Africans have started to understand the root causes of this situation. Therefore, "there are still positive changes," but in the people's perception of the world, and their place in it. Apart from that, previously, as a colony, the Congo was isolated from the whole world, it was not possible to travel to other countries and get an education. Now a new generation is growing in the country, she explained, new educated young people, and "they are the future."
"I am sure that the young Congolese are capable of creating the future that Lumumba dreamed of, fighting for genuine national, primarily economic, independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo!" Ponomarenko stated.