Assassination Of Lumumba [Paperback]

It is my hope that this well documented and careful study about this important period of Congolese history will serve as basic reference and become a classic textbook for educators and anyone interested in the long and complex history of the struggle for freedom, dignity and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Enough with the anger though as I don't want to go overboard and see it in the stark ideological terms as the author does when he says that what happened in the Congo in 1960 is a "staggering example of what the Western ruling classes are capable of when their vital interests are threatened." That is too trite an answer for the circumstances surrounding Lumumba's assassination and way too simple an analysis of the complex situation in the Congo at the time of independence.

THE ASSASSINATION OF LUMUMBA looks at a tiny fraction of Congo's history. The book is almost entirely confined to the period from June 30th, 1960 (when the country became independent from Belgium) to January 17th, 1961, when Lumumba and two of his former ministers of government were executed in the breakaway province of Katanga. During that period the country went through crisis, with Belgium, France, the US, the USSR and the UN all wanting to have a say. There were at least three substantive leaders of the Congolese: Lumumba as prime minister, Joseph Kasavubu the president, and the usurper Joseph Mobuto (who after all was said and done emerged in 1965 as the dictator Mobuto Sese Seko). Throw into the mix a mutinying army, a secession in Katanga province and rebellions in two other provinces.

In investigating these events Belgian sociologist Ludo DeWitte focused his research on recently declassified Belgian documents. His thesis is that the conventional wisdom that Lumumba's death was "a Bantu affair" - as his countrymen called it - was all wrong. He argues that Belgium was instrumental in setting up, participating in, and covering up Lumumbas death. This book caused such a stir in Belgium that the government opened a parliamentiary enquiry to investigate the facts and the foreign minister promised that if proven true, an official apology would be offered.

Subsequent to the publishing of this book the commission released its findings. It said "certain members of the Belgian government and other Belgian figures have a moral responsibility in the circumstances which led to the death of Lumumba." Will the man's spirit be able to rest in peace with this? De Witte's specific point that an order for Lumumba's "definite elimination" came out of the offices of Count d'Aspremont-Lynden's Department of African Affairs, however still remains unproven. The Commission says plainly "in no document or witness account could it be found that the Belgian Government, or one of its members, gave the orders to physically eliminate Lumumba." If this means that there is still no resolution to this issue, we can nevertheless rest assured that in the words of Lumumba's last letter to his wife "the day will come when history will have its say."

"Assassination is the extreme form of censorship" (George Bernard Shaw)

De Witte depicts Lumumba as a fierce nationalist but denies that he was left-leaning. That claim may have to be investigated further. Lumumba did have strong connections to Russia and surely there is a reason why the university in Moscow for foreign students is named "Lumumba University". There is no doubt, though, that he presented himself as a socialist.

The author repeatedly mentions that Lumumba's rise to the presidency of the Congo was the story of a death foretold. Western governments repeatedly sais that Lumumba had to be "eliminated". But the interpretation was left open: did they mean "physically" or "politically"? It is interesting to note that it took them almost seven months to kill him. An assassin hired by the Belgians was called back. The CIA delivered a box of poison that was never used. Why this delay, when an invented illness would have been faster and politically more acceptable?

De Wittte also claims that Lumumba had to fail with his government because he lacked a functioning army and police force to back him up. What he never examines, unfortunately, is the fact that Belgium withdrew its administrative apparatus upon independence. And they had never trained any natives to be administrators. On July 1, 1960, The Congo had only a handful native lawyers, physicians, or even people with a higher education. Under those conditions you cannot run a country (you have to know where the telephones are).

Because of this book, Belgium officially apologized to the Congo ... Mr. de Witte could hardly wish for a better acknowledgement of his work.