Lumumba’s remains arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday, more than six decades after his assassination.Lumumba was the first democratically elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He alarmed the West with overtures to Moscow at the height of the Cold War. His government lasted just three months before he was overthrown and assassinated by a firing squad.
De Croo said Belgian colonial rule was a dark page in Belgium’s history, echoing comments of the Belgian King Philippe during a visit to DRC earlier in June, adding that African people still experienced racism in Belgium today.DRC Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde called Lumumba a national hero and said his death and suppression of his supporters hurt not only victims’ families but the country as a whole.
Belgium has partly acknowledged its responsibility for the murder of Lumumba in 1960. But King Baudouin’s complicity remains to be officially recognised. A parliamentary commission found that he was aware of plans to assassinate the Congolese leader. A DNA test of the tooth would give Soete’s account greater credibility. But the court has not approved a test because it would have destroyed the tooth, leaving nothing to give the family, the spokesman said.
When it comes to the restitution of objects from colonial contexts, the Belgian government has allocated 2 million euros to research the provenance of the objects.