Customer Reviews

The Assassination of Lumumba

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You may recall Adam Hochschild's book of a couple years ago where he intimated that KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST remains a malevolent force guiding the carnage that is taking place in the present day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Well here's one for the Congolese. Forty years after his assassination Patrice Lumumba remains a haunting presence, forever reminding Belgium of its past misdeeds in Africa. Broader still his death bears testimomy to the fact that so much of what Europe and our government talks about as human rights concerns is self-serving and empty rhetoric.

Enough with the anger though as I don't want to go overboard and see it in the stark ideological terms as the author does when he says that what happened in the Congo in 1960 is a "staggering example of what the Western ruling classes are capable of when their vital interests are threatened." That is too trite an answer for the circumstances surrounding Lumumba's assassination and way too simple an analysis of the complex situation in the Congo at the time of independence.

THE ASSASSINATION OF LUMUMBA looks at a tiny fraction of Congo's history. The book is almost entirely confined to the period from June 30th, 1960 (when the country became independent from Belgium) to January 17th, 1961, when Lumumba and two of his former ministers of government were executed in the breakaway province of Katanga. During that period the country went through crisis, with Belgium, France, the US, the USSR and the UN all wanting to have a say. There were at least three substantive leaders of the Congolese: Lumumba as prime minister, Joseph Kasavubu the president, and the usurper Joseph Mobuto (who after all was said and done emerged in 1965 as the dictator Mobuto Sese Seko). Throw into the mix a mutinying army, a secession in Katanga province and rebellions in two other provinces.

In investigating these events Belgian sociologist Ludo DeWitte focused his research on recently declassified Belgian documents. His thesis is that the conventional wisdom that Lumumba's death was "a Bantu affair" - as his countrymen called it - was all wrong. He argues that Belgium was instrumental in setting up, participating in, and covering up Lumumbas death. This book caused such a stir in Belgium that the government opened a parliamentiary enquiry to investigate the facts and the foreign minister promised that if proven true, an official apology would be offered.

Subsequent to the publishing of this book the commission released its findings. It said "certain members of the Belgian government and other Belgian figures have a moral responsibility in the circumstances which led to the death of Lumumba." Will the man's spirit be able to rest in peace with this? De Witte's specific point that an order for Lumumba's "definite elimination" came out of the offices of Count d'Aspremont-Lynden's Department of African Affairs, however still remains unproven. The Commission says plainly "in no document or witness account could it be found that the Belgian Government, or one of its members, gave the orders to physically eliminate Lumumba." If this means that there is still no resolution to this issue, we can nevertheless rest assured that in the words of Lumumba's last letter to his wife "the day will come when history will have its say."

"Assassination is the extreme form of censorship" (George Bernard Shaw)

This book is certainly well written to the extent that it is a historical account of the early life of independent Congo up until the assasination of the first premier. It has taken over three deacades for such a foreceful and convincing counterfactual case to emerge, but it is just proof that "No lie(s) can live forever". The author has done well on this score.

The connivance of a whole set of opportunists in the Congo and some players in the international arena would be shocking for a person otherwise unfamiliar with this period. This book is proof that Lumumba's life could have been saved but it was not politically expedient to do so. Most of all, the author has led to the questioning of the assumption that the U.N. is an enduring friend of developing countries.

The author deserves unqualified credit for painstakingly seeking the facts through which to support the central thesis that the assassination was planned even if not very neatly executed.While the author's work is certainly not the last word on this issue, it has helped to put to death the lies that were advanced in the period following the assassination. Compared to other publications on the subject, I consider this a definitive text and perhaps an indispensable book in the history section of all college and public libraries.

The author is genuinely moved to expose the great injustice that was perpetrated against Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito and by extension to the Congolese people. It is not difficult to understand how the series of events led to the increased militarisation of Congolese politics. Belgium and its monarchy owes the Congolese people an apology.

While Mr. De Witte appears to me as an admirer of Lumumba, he balances his admiration by stating the fact that Premier Lumumba had not sufficiently consolidated his polictical power and neither had he developed a coherent economic and political programme that could have frustrated the conspiracy. In essence, Africa's first generation of leaders relied heavily on charisma without the political organisation that was desperately needed. I think that this point is still valid.

While the book is a good read, (I went through it twice), I think that the author could have been carried away by his enthusiasm in the concluding portion. He set out to investigate and set the facts about the assassination but was concluding with a political sermon on the class factor and a slight leftist bent. This could have been relevant if he sought to explain Lumumba's political philosophy. In the absense of this, I asked myself, "Why is Ludo going this far?"

I would recommend this book to anyone with an open (not empty) mind. A good read and a classic. In the meantime, we hope that Lumumba's last prayer may come true soon.

...Five stars for the incredible amount of research that went into the writing of this book.. It is a book that was necessary and long overdue. For the first time we have clear proof of all the players, what they did and when they did it. Lumumba was assassinated by Tshombe?s police, with the help of Belgian officials. They can not any longer deny it.

De Witte depicts Lumumba as a fierce nationalist but denies that he was left-leaning. That claim may have to be investigated further. Lumumba did have strong connections to Russia and surely there is a reason why the university in Moscow for foreign students is named "Lumumba University". There is no doubt, though, that he presented himself as a socialist.

The author repeatedly mentions that Lumumba's rise to the presidency of the Congo was the story of a death foretold. Western governments repeatedly sais that Lumumba had to be "eliminated". But the interpretation was left open: did they mean "physically" or "politically"? It is interesting to note that it took them almost seven months to kill him. An assassin hired by the Belgians was called back. The CIA delivered a box of poison that was never used. Why this delay, when an invented illness would have been faster and politically more acceptable?

De Wittte also claims that Lumumba had to fail with his government because he lacked a functioning army and police force to back him up. What he never examines, unfortunately, is the fact that Belgium withdrew its administrative apparatus upon independence. And they had never trained any natives to be administrators. On July 1, 1960, The Congo had only a handful native lawyers, physicians, or even people with a higher education. Under those conditions you cannot run a country (you have to know where the telephones are).

Because of this book, Belgium officially apologized to the Congo ... Mr. de Witte could hardly wish for a better acknowledgement of his work.

This book is an outstanding piece of work that reflects the author's intellectual honesty and his passion for the truth. A truth that has been hidden and distorted in so many ways, for so long. Ludo De Witte's detailed account of The Assassination of Lumumba finally makes a breakthrough. The book is both enlightening and disturbing but, above all, educational. While providing powerful and troubling data about this horrific event, it also helps to understand the facts from the context of the struggle against the neo-colonial order in which they occurred.

It is my hope that this well documented and careful study about this important period of Congolese history will serve as basic reference and become a classic textbook for educators and anyone interested in the long and complex history of the struggle for freedom, dignity and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For readers interested in the facts about Patrice Lumumba's murder, this translated book is a very valuable source of new information. In addition to giving a detailed narrative of what happened, it backs up that narratie with numerous illuminating quotations from now-unclassified documents, recorded interviews and writings of persons involved in the murder. As a writer and analyst, the main author is thorough, meticulous, and accurate.

The main takeways from the book, for me, was first that Belgian officers and diplomats were integrally involved in the capture and murder of Lumumba, even to the point of leading and being members of the firing squad that killed him. The second was the participation of high UN offiicials in actions that led to Lumumba's murder.

On an interpretive level, the book is interesting because, like the book Overthrow, it shows how the post-colonial nations' actions against politicians such as Lumumba were motivated by antipopulism more than atnicommunism.

The main downside of the book is that the first author is not conversant with the documentary record in English, especially that arising in the US or from US nationals working abroad. It's important to read it in the light of the Church Report, which you can access on line through a link in Wikipedia or through the U.S. Congress website, and Raoul Peck's two films on the assassination.

Other lessor problems with it are that it is very difficult to read if one is not a researcher very interested in the subject and not as fully illustrated with photographs as it could have been, in my opinion.

After seeing the film Lumumba (directed by Raoul Peck),I searched for more information about the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and discovered Ludo De Witte's book. "The Assassination of Lumumba" is a penetrating examination of the role of Belgium, the United States government, the CIA, the United Nations, and of other Western powers in the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. It includes detailed documentation, comprehensive bibliographic references, a chronology of events, and photographs. Learning about this period in world history is critical because it increases our awareness and understanding of this present era of globalization and the forms of imperialist oppression that persist in our world today. The assassins are still among us.

Finally some honest answers as to what happened to Patrice Lumumba. An excellent commentary on neo-colonialism in the Congo.

Patrice Lumumba was a symbol for all that is despised by the Imperialistic West. A nation that was so rich with resources that the Congo couldn't POSSIBLY be left to its own independence. Lumumba was a people's leader. He had the following of the masses. He was an inspiration to not only the people of the Congo, but to many around the world, particularly in Africa during this time when many countries on the continent were throwing off the yoke of imperialism. It can be said that with Lumumba's assassination, that the period of African neo-colonialism officially began. This particular case of outright murder was a combined effort with Belgium, French and American interests. De Witte does an excellent job exposing this injustice for what it was...an attempt by the West to yet again meddle in the affairs of third world nations trying to maintain sovereignty and independence. In this case they were successful. Lumumba simply did not have enough time to prepare a solid nationalistic foundation in the Congo. Brussels thought that they would have much longer to move out of the nation, but realized that with the immense popularity of Lumumba, that they would have to move much faster, and would have to do so in a way that would place the blame on a few drunken Congolese enemies of Lumumba looking to stage a coup. It was only with the writing of this book that opinions began to change. In fact, this book had such an impact, that the Belgian Parliament ordered an official investigation into the murders of Lumumba and his 2 aides on that fateful day in January of 1961. We have yet to see justice done in the Congo, and because of the meddling of the West, Mobutu amassed a huge personal fortune while reducing his nation and his people to poverty at the gain of the West. Lumumba is an inspiration to revolutionaries and anti-imperialists throughout the world as he had the courage to stand up and become a martyr for his country and spit in the face of those who had no business being in his country after June 30, 1960.

The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba reveals the complicity of Belgium and the US in his murder, and the resulting tragedy. Two other books, King Leopold's Ghost and In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, clearly show how this rich country was reduced to beggary and violence. Congolese were treated less than human for many years. It has been suggested that Hitler used King Leopold's tactics in subjugating Europe and the killing of Jews, Gypsies and other minorities that the Nazis regarded as subhuman. Mr. Lumumba was brutally killed for openly speaking out about the abuses inflicted on the Congolese by Belgium and for refusing to be a puppet of the West. Those responsible for his murder spoke openly and none was ever brought to justice. Much of what is happening in Congo, none of it good, can be traced to the slaughter of Patrice Lumumba.

I remember reading a book on Ralph Bunch about his time in the Congo, and he said something to the fact "how can millions of African men allow a few pasty faces to rule them so thoroughly?"

Lumumba was an interesting character. I learned a lot from the book.