The Assassination of Lumumba

by Ludo De Witte

Book Overview

The Assassination of Lumumba unravels the appalling mass of lies, hypocrisy and betrayals that have surrounded accounts of the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba--the first prime minister of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1859846181
• ISBN13: 9781859846186
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Verso
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Read

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

The death of a people's leader and the beginning of neo-colonialism

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.

A Painful but educational reading for Congolese generations

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.

The Story of a Death Foretold

...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.

A penetrating truthful analysis of Lumumba's assassination

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.