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Patrice Lumumba
Who was Patrice Lumumba, a martyr for a worthy cause, or a foolish man with unrealistic hopes and ambitions? Patrice Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo (“Patrice Emergy Lumumba”). In 1958, Lumumba founded the National Congolese Movement (MNC). He became president of the organization and the following year led numerous demonstrations and strikes against the Belgian government. Lumumba called for the Congo to be granted its immediate independence from Belgium.
After congressional elections in 1960 the MNC became the country's strongest party. Lumumba became the new prime minister and immediately talked about the need for social and economic changes in the country. He voiced for the people who had for so long had been held down, spit on, hit, and beaten.
Patrice Lumumba had a vivid picture of his country. He knew what he wanted for Congo and what kind of country he wanted to live in. He wanted wealth for his people, social justice, proper standards of living, equality, and the end of colonization. He fought for the freedom of Congo. Patrice Lumumba was a man proud of Africa. Despite the colonial injustice he had experienced in his life, he so longed and hoped for glorious times for Africa.
With the outbreak of the cold war, it was certain that the U.S. and its western allies would not be prepared to let Africans have effective control over strategic raw materials (Kanza 156). It was because of this that Patrice Lumumba was determine to achieve independence and to have full control over the Congo’s resources in order to utilize them to improve the living conditions of the Congolese people. This was seen as a threat to western interest. In June 1960 Lumumba helped Congo win its independence from Belgium.
Although now Congo was an independent country, not many people shared his idea of a unified Congo. Many of his fellow leaders in government were more intent on establishing their own individual tribes and clans. Some wanted to re-establish some of the larger tribes as empires with political backing, while others simply wanted to establish themselves as tribal chiefs (Kanza 179). This clash of ideas led to a collapse of the government, with Lumumba and Kasavubu, (Congo’s president at the time) colliding.
This lack of unity in Government led to political disorder with tribes declaring independence from the Government. There was general chaos throughout the country and after a number of unsuccessful attempts to restore order, Lumumba was forced out of office and placed under house arrest. When he tried to escape, he was arrested and tortured by soldiers loyal to Colonel Joseph Mobutu (“Patrice Emergy Lumumba”). He was later transferred to Elizabethville, Katanga, where he was murdered on January 17, 1961.
Patrice Lumumba was a man who loved his country. His passion for Congo can be seen through his speeches, his desperate attempts to keep the torn country together, and most of all, through his proud dignity in defense of his nation. Patrice Lumumba was a man who lived, and died, for the love of his country.

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