Prime Minister killed: Belgium returns Lumumba’s tooth to Congo

Status: 20.06.2022 2:09 p.m

Belgium has returned a tooth belonging to slain Congolese independence fighter Lumumba. Relatives attended the private handover ceremony. King Philippe received her in his palace.

Belgium has returned the remains of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated in 1961, to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A box containing a tooth of Lumumba was presented to the family at a ceremony in Brussels.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo apologized to the family and spoke of his country’s “moral responsibility”. De Croo stressed that to date there is “no evidence” that the Belgian government or the army was actively involved in the assassination of Lumumba in the early 1960s.

Those responsible in Belgium could probably have prevented the crime. In addition to Lumumba’s children, Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde also attended the ceremony.

King Philippe: Deep regrets

Almost two weeks ago, during a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, King Philippe of Belgium expressed his “deep regret” about the suffering of the colonial era. He now received the relatives of Lumumba in his palace.

King Philippe of Belgium welcomed the children of Congo’s first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba.

Image: EPA

Lumumba was the first democratically elected head of government of the long-standing Belgian colony of the Congo. The declared opponent of the colonial rulers was murdered a few months after his election. According to eyewitnesses, his body was dissolved in acid. This was apparently intended to prevent his grave from becoming a place of pilgrimage.

Investigation: Moral Guilt of the Government

To this day, it is unclear to what extent the US and Belgium contributed to the murder of Lumumba, who is believed to have had ties to communists. A Belgian parliamentary inquiry concluded that the government was morally responsible for Lumumba’s death. According to a 1975 US Senate investigation, the CIA planned to kill Lumumba.

Belgian authorities found the tooth decades later while investigating Lumumba’s disappearance. He is now to be transferred to his homeland. The case strained relations between Brussels and Kinshasa to the end.

‘Finally’ – Belgium returns Patrice Lumumba’s tooth

Jakob Mayr, ARD Brussels, 20.6.2022 3:39 p.m

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