by MWAURA KAARA
In his speech, addressed directly to Belgium’s monarch and ministers, Lumumba reclaimed the history and dignity of the Congolese people in their decades-long struggle for independence:
‘For this independence of the Congo … no Congolese worthy of the name will ever be able to forget that it was by fighting that it has been won, a day-to-day fight, an ardent and idealistic fight, a fight in which we were spared neither privation nor suffering, and for which we gave our strength and our blood … We are proud of this struggle, of tears, of fire, and of blood, to the depths of our being, for it was a noble and just struggle, and indispensable to put an end to the humiliating slavery which was imposed upon us by force.’
Lumumba was prime minister for only about two months before he was removed illegally from office and eventually killed. This occurred under the auspices and coordination of a section of the United Nations loyal to the Belgian government, the Belgian authorities and the US Central Intelligence Agency.
PAMBAZUKA for more