The Congo's story has to do with two moments in history that are connected. One begins with extreme colonial greed. The other ends with the murder of a man who tried to stop that greed from continuing under a new name. Together, they explain why Congo’s suffering did not end with independence.
About a hundred years ago, King Leopold II of Belgium took control of the Congo. He did not treat it as a nation or as a people with rights. He treated it as personal property. At the time, rubber was in high demand across the world, especially for tires and industrial machines. To meet this demand, Congolese men were forced deep into forests to harvest rubber under impossible quotas.
However, failure was not met with fines or warnings. It was met with terror. Soldiers were issued bullets and ordered to account for each one. To prove that a bullet had been used to punish someone who failed to meet rubber quotas, soldiers were required to return with a severed human hand. One bullet demanded one hand. Over time, this practice turned into widespread mutilation. Sometimes hands were cut off from corpses. Other times, they were taken from living people. Entire villages were punished to send a message. Fear became the tool that kept rubber flowing. This was an organized system of control.
Over time, international pressure forced Belgium to end Leopold’s direct rule, but the structure he created did not disappear. Decades later, in 1960, Congo finally gained independence. For the first time, Congolese people were promised self-rule. It was during this fragile moment that Patrice Lumumba emerged as the country’s first Prime Minister. To many Congolese citizens, Lumumba symbolized dignity. He spoke openly about colonial abuse, economic justice, and national pride. He believed Congo’s wealth should be used to build schools, hospitals, and opportunities for its own people.
However, Lumumba’s vision alarmed foreign powers. Congo was extremely rich in minerals such as gold, diamonds, copper, and uranium. Belgium feared losing access to these resources. At the same time, the United States, operating within the tension of the Cold War, worried that Lumumba might turn to the Soviet Union if the West refused to cooperate with him. To Western governments, Lumumba was dangerous because he was independent. He could not be controlled, and he refused to allow Congo to remain economically dependent.
As tensions grew, decisions were made quietly and quickly. Lumumba was labeled a problem that needed to be solved. In early 1961, he was captured by soldiers loyal to Mobutu Sese Seko, a military officer supported by Western powers. He was beaten, humiliated, and then sent to his enemies in Katanga, a breakaway region led by Moïse Tshombe and backed by Belgium. On January 17, 1961, Lumumba and two of his friends were taken to a remote place, tied up, and shot by a firing squad, while Belgian officers watched and gave orders.
Even death was not considered enough. Those responsible feared that Lumumba’s grave would become a symbol of resistance. To prevent this, his body was dug up, cut into pieces, and dissolved in acid. The intention was not only to kill the man but to erase his memory entirely.
For more than sixty years, nothing remained of Patrice Lumumba except a single gold tooth, kept by a Belgian officer as a personal trophy. In 2022, that tooth was returned to Lumumba’s family, and he was finally given a proper burial in Congolese soil. While this act did not undo the past, it confirmed a painful truth. History had tried to erase Lumumba, but it failed.
Congo’s struggles cannot be separated from this past. The severed hands of the rubber era and the assassination of Lumumba came from the same root of foreign control over African wealth without accountability. Congo’s story is the story of a nation repeatedly punished for insisting on ownership of its own future.
2026 Bernice Temitayo Olusaiye | Talkafricang.com
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