The mausoleum of Patrice Lumumba in Congo has been vandalized, with thieves stealing the iconic gold-capped tooth. The shocking act sparks outrage over the protection of national heritage.
The government of Congo reports that the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba has been vandalized. It is currently unclear whether Lumumba’s remains, which consist of a single gold-capped tooth, have been damaged or stolen.
According to a mausoleum curator, the national press agency reported that on Monday the glass doors were shattered and the coffin holding the tooth was damaged. In a statement released Tuesday, Congo’s ministry of culture mentioned that it is still unknown who is responsible for this act.
In 2022, the return of Lumumba’s tooth from Belgium, his former colonizer, was celebrated throughout Congo. The tooth traveled across the expansive country to allow people to pay their respects.
Lumumba is celebrated as the nationalist advocate instrumental in ending colonial rule. As Congo’s inaugural prime minister, he was regarded as one of Africa’s most promising leaders; however, his life was tragically cut short when he was assassinated within a year in 1961. In an attempt to prevent any grave from becoming a site of homage, his body was dismembered and dissolved with acid.
For many in Congo, Lumumba represents the potential positive progress that the nation could have experienced following its independence. However, instead of realizing this promise, the country endured decades of dictatorship that depleted its abundant mineral resources.
According to historians, Lumumba became a casualty of the Cold War. His advocacy for leftist policies and his appeal to the Soviet Union for assistance in suppressing a secessionist movement in the mineral-rich Katanga region led to him losing support from Belgium and the United States.
A military coup overthrew Lumumba, leading to his arrest and imprisonment before he was ultimately killed. His assassination, attributed to separatists, paved the way for Mobutu Sese Seko’s ascent to power. Mobutu governed the country—renamed Zaire—for several decades with backing from Western nations until his death in 1997.
Although Lumumba’s assassins were Congolese, persistent questions remain about the potential involvement of Belgium and the United States due to his perceived Communist affiliations.
The Belgian police commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing the destruction of his body, kept his last remaining tooth. In 2016, this tooth was confiscated by Belgian authorities from the commissioner’s daughter.
Following the visit of Belgium’s King Philippe, who expressed regret for his nation’s abuses in Congo during its time as a Belgian colony, the tooth was returned to Congo.
