Background
Lumumba was born to a farmer, François Tolenga Otetshima.
Lumumba was born to a farmer, François Tolenga Otetshima.
Lumumba’s rule was marked by political disruption and violence when an army mutiny was followed by the province of Katanga, under Moise Tshombe, declaring independence – with unofficial Belgian support – on 11 July. After the despatch of Belgian forces Lumumba appealed to the UN for aid and then to help expel Belgian troops and assist the government to restore control in the Congo. When the UN proved reluctant to implement its resolutions and unable to get the removal of Belgian troops, Lumumba appealed to the Soviet Union for aid. In September 1960, the Prime Minister was dismissed by his political rival Kasavubu, an act of dubious legality.Lumumba was arrested on 15 September 1960 and placed under house arrest where he was protected by UN troops.The Congolese leader was recaptured in Kasai and returned to Leopoldville on 1 December. Amidst bitter controversy at the UN over the treatment of an elected African leader Lumumba was transferred to Katanga where he was beaten and murdered by the leading supporters of Tshombe, assisted by the Belgian security forces. Aged only 35 his death avoided the prospect of radical policies in the Congo and helped preserve western interest in the short-term at the expense of the long term stability of the country.
The Mouvement National Congolais was founded in 1958 as a nationalist, pro-independence group in the Belgian Congo. The MNC was a national party with substantial support in the whole of Congo, while most other parties were based primarily on tribal allegiances and garnered support in their respective provinces.
In 1959, as the country approached independence, the MNC was split by internal conflicts between the left-leaning Patrice Lumumba and the moderate Albert Kalonji. Lumumba retained control of the party while Kalonji and his followers split off to found the Mouvement National Congolais-Kalonji. Lumumba's group advocated a centralized government, while Kalonji's proposed a more federalist government.
Patrice Lumumba was married to Pauline Lumumba and had five children; François was the eldest followed by Patrice Junior, Julienne, Roland and Guy-Patrice Lumumba. François was 10 years old when Patrice died. Before his imprisonment, Patrice arranged for his wife and children to move into exile in Egypt, where François spent his childhood, then went to Hungary for education (he holds a doctorate in political economics).
Lumumba's youngest son, Guy-Patrice, born six months after his father's death, was an independent presidential candidate in the 2006 elections, but received less than 10% of the vote.