On this day in 1961 the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated. The former Minister was killed seven months after the country gained its independence from Belgium. South Africans have taken to social media to mark the 58th anniversary of his death.
Here’s a look at how South Africa remembers Patrice Lumumba.
Watch: Today marks the 58th anniversary of the assassination of the 1st Prime Minister of the Congo Republic, Patrice Lumumba. This was his brave speech during Congo’s Independence Day Celebration which reports allege led to his assassination 6 months later. #PatriceLumumba pic.twitter.com/LiKr6fPM79
— Min. Nathi Mthethwa (@NathiMthethwaSA) January 17, 2019
Today, 17 January, we remember the Son of the Soil, Patrice Lumumba, first Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo, assassinated just a few months after the country gained independence from Belgium in 1961. They killed him, burnt his body & poured acid over his remains. pic.twitter.com/xcAyKvoci6
— SteveBikoFoundation (@BikoFoundation) January 17, 2019
We remember Patrice Lumumba, assassinated 17 Jan 1961, seven months after independence. The Belgians with US assistance & Congolese stooges killed him, buried him, exhumed his body & poured acid all over him. https://t.co/SsUWMai5lZ
— Pinky Khoabane (@pinkykhoabane) January 17, 2019
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This day in history, Patrice Lumumba is assassinated by Belgian armed forces with the aid of the US and France. We celebrate him as a stout believer in pan-Afrikanism, a freedom fighter and liberator of his people. Today we draw strength from this great ancestor. #PatriceLumumba pic.twitter.com/DpBuihSGFe
— Busi Carol (@Busi_Carol_) January 17, 2019
17th Jan 1961. President Patrice Lumumba is assassinated- shot and chopped into pieces like a dog and his remains burnt with acid. A joint mission between Belgium, USA, United Nations and Mobutu. All to keep Congo and rest of Afrika under Western control. We remember!
— Jackie Shandu (@JackieShandu) January 17, 2019
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Patrice Lumumba..Wherever your spirit is, let it rest in power and assurance that as the young inheritors of the legacy freedom which you were killed for, we shall continue with the fight to restore human dignity. Long Live Lumumba, Long Live Congo! Power to a united Africa! pic.twitter.com/77S1VwX83y
— Austin Gege (@Austin_Gege) January 17, 2019
This day in history, Patrice Lumumba is assassinated by Belgian armed forces with the aid of the US and France. We celebrate him as a stout believer in pan-Africanism, a freedom fighter and liberator of his people. Today we draw strength from this great ancestor. pic.twitter.com/cvyXw6FWk5
— Black Lives Matter-SA (@BLM_SouthAfrica) January 17, 2019
“The only thing which we wanted for our country is the right to a worthy life, to dignity without pretence, to independence without restrictions. This was never the desire of the Belgian colonialists and their Western allies” Patrice Lumumba
— Babu Ntuli (@ntuli_charles) January 17, 2019
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