Patrice Lumumba
A leader killed at 36
Patrice Emery Lumumba was a Congolese writer, activist and revolutionary. The story of Lumumba is that of a short-lived life with many accomplishments. He died at the tender age of 36, just a few months after becoming the DRCs first Prime minister.
Early Life
Lumumba was born in 1925 in colonial Congo, from Wembonya village in the Katoko-Kombe district of Sankuru. He attended local missionary schools and a government post office training school, where he studied to become a post office clerk. Few Congolese were educated in colonial Congo; the emerging learned class of the mid-20th century was labelled as the educated elite. Lumumba was also a writer that contributed to several anti-colonial publications such as L’Afrique et la Monde, L’Echo, La Croix du Congo and La Voix du Congolais. He was similarly the editor of the post office’s paper.
Some scholars note that his writings were the beginnings of his revolution. He was part of activist groups such as the Liberal Circle and the post office workers’ society president. In 1956, Lumumba wrote a book titled Congo, My Country. His book discussed the struggles of the Congolese people —…
