a tooth. After more than 100 years of brutal rule, this was all that remained of the body of Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba, after he was killed and dissolved in acid by Belgian separatists and mercenaries on January 17 in the Katanga region. from 1961. .
Gerard Soete, the police officer involved in the murder, hid Lumumba’s tooth as a trophy. Rescued by Belgian courts, he was returned to his family.
This Monday (20), more than 61 years after his death, the last burial of Patrice Lumumba, the prime minister of Congo, was returned to his family and country. A single tooth that has been hidden all these years by a Belgian policeman who was one of those responsible for the murder of the national hero.
The ceremony was held in the presence of Patrice Lumumba’s family, as well as Belgian and Congolese officials, and was noted by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo’s speech, which “reiterated the government’s apology”. Louis Michel, later head of Belgian diplomacy. This time, Alexander de Croo reminded of the moral responsibility of the country’s leaders in the death of Lumumba.
“A man was killed for his political convictions, words, ideals. Because I am a Democrat this is untenable, because I am a liberal it is unacceptable. And it is disgusting for the person I am. The Belgian head of government repeating several times that this extradition is too late.
“Africa celebrates the return of a son”
Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde later took the floor, greeting “National hero Lumumba” and adding that the date 20 June 2022 “has entered the years of history”. “A whole continent, Africa, celebrating the return of a son,” he repeated.
Before the speeches, the eyes of the audience turned to Patrice Lumumba’s children Juliana, Roland and François. The Belgian Justice, by the hand of Frédéric Van Leeuw, head of the Federal Public Ministry, handed over the father’s body to them in a cordial and private ceremony attended by about 20 people.
Frederic Van Leeuw said, “I want to thank you for the legal measures you have taken, because without these measures we would not be where we are today. This has allowed the justice system in our country to move forward.”
An important moment for Juliana Lumumba as well: “Our father is a public man, but we (…) want to call him ‘dad’,” she said. The daughter of the Congolese independence hero also thanked King Philippe of Belgium for reuniting with her siblings. He praised the action of the Belgian government and expressed his endless gratitude to Congo President Félix Tshisekedi.
savagery
Patrice Lumumba for over 100 years – Belgium’s World War II Under Leopold, then under Belgian rule – what was then known as the Congo Free State was the Congo’s first prime minister until it gained independence in 1960.
At that time Congolese had to work in numerous rubber fields. Belgium also plundered the country’s abundant minerals, wood, and ivory. Many groups opposed and were killed. Those forced to work had their hands cut off or killed directly by their superiors if they did not meet their daily quota. Many also died after being infected with various diseases.
Historians, including Adam Hochschild, author of “The Ghost of King Leopold”, who investigated this atrocity in his book, state that 10 million Congolese perished at the hands of the Belgians.
As the first president of the newly independent country, Lumumba was a fierce anti-colonialist. Both Belgium and the United States were his allies, but he fell out of favor by adopting pro-Congo policies.
source: Noticias
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