The 200 Days of Lumumba

How anti-imperialism and international plots determined the life and death of the Congolese independence hero.

It is often said that Patrice Emery Lumumba set himself up for destruction in his declaration of independence speech when he highlighted the atrocities meted out to his people, against the advice of Belgian imperialists. But, should he have spoken differently? Was his statement not a depiction of the realities in DRC? We take a journey through the words of the man who posed one of the greatest threats to the colonialists. From Independence to his last letter to his wife and country, we lend our voices to Lumumba to shine a light on one of the greatest sins of imperialism.

"The day will come when history will speak. But it will not be the history which will be taught in Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations. Africa will write its own history and in both north and south it will be a history of glory and dignity."

This is an opportunity to engage with one of the most talked about figures in Congolese history but never truly studied.