Patrice
Lumumba was the first democratically elected prime minister of the Congo. The
DRC won its independence in June 1960, but the wishes of the Belgian
colonialists were that the conditions after independence should not be
different from that of the colonial era.
Lumumba
was removed from office less than two months after independence. He was placed
under house arrest; he escaped but was recaptured, beaten, tortured and
eventually eliminated.
Here
down is the last letter of Patrice Lumumba to his wife before he was assassinated
My
dear wife,
I
am writing these words not knowing whether they will reach you, when they will
reach you, and whether I shall still be alive when you read them. All through
my struggle for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for a
single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my companions and
I have devoted all our lives. But what we wished for our country, its right to
an honourable life, to unstained dignity, to independence without restrictions,
was never desired by the Belgian imperialists and the Western allies, who found
direct and indirect support, both deliberate and unintentional, amongst certain
high officials of the United Nations, that organization in which we placed all
our trust when we called on its assistance.
They
have corrupted some of our compatriots and bribed others. They have helped to
distort the truth and bring our independence into dishonour. How could I speak
otherwise?
Dead
or alive, free or in prison by order of the imperialists, it is not myself who
counts. It is the Congo, it is our poor people for whom independence has been
transformed into a cage from whose confines the outside world looks on us,
sometimes with kindly sympathy, but at other times with joy and pleasure. But
my faith will remain unshakeable. I know and I feel in my heart that sooner or
later my people will rid themselves of all their enemies, both internal and
external, and that they will rise as one man to say No to the degradation and
shame of colonialism, and regain their dignity in the clear light of the sun.
We
are not alone. Africa, Asia and the free liberated people from all corners of
the world will always be found at the side of the millions of Congolese who
will not abandon the struggle until the day when there are no longer any
colonialists and their mercenaries in our country. As to my children whom I
leave and whom I may never see again, I should like them to be told that it is
for them, as it is for every Congolese, to accomplish the sacred task of
reconstructing our independence and our sovereignty: for without dignity there
is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity, and without independence
there are no free men.
Neither
brutality, nor cruelty nor torture will ever bring me to ask for mercy, for I
prefer to die with my head unbowed, my faith unshakable and with profound trust
in the destiny of my country, rather than live under subjection and
disregarding sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will
not be the history that is taught in Brussels, Paris, Washington or in the
United Nations, but the history which will be taught in the countries freed
from imperialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and to the
north and south of the Sahara, it will be a glorious and dignified history.
Do
not weep for me, my dear wife. I know that my country, which is suffering so
much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty.
Long
live the Congo! Long live Africa!
Patrice
Lumumba
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