— Ch. 1 · Early Life And Education —
Patrice Lumumba.
~12 min read · Ch. 1 of 8
On the 2nd of July 1925, Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa was born in Onalua within the Katakokombe region of Kasai province. He belonged to the Tetela ethnic group and carried the name Élias Okit'Asombo. His father François Tolenga Otetshima worked as a farmer while his mother Julienne Wamato Lomendja raised the family. The surname meant heir of the cursed people who would die quickly according to Tetela words. Lumumba attended a Protestant primary school before moving to a Catholic missionary school. He later completed a one-year course at the government post office training school with distinction. Teachers noted his vocal nature as he pointed out their errors in front of peers. This outspoken character defined his future career path. He spoke five languages including Tetela French Lingala Swahili and Tshiluba. Outside formal studies he read Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. He also admired Molière and Victor Hugo for their literary works. Lumumba wrote poetry with anti-imperialist themes throughout his early years. He worked as a traveling beer salesman in Léopoldville before becoming a postal clerk in Stanleyville. That job lasted eleven years until political events changed his life.
Rise To Political Power
Lumumba helped found the Mouvement National Congolais party in 1958 after his release from prison. The organization did not draw on any particular ethnic base unlike other parties developing at that time. It promoted independence gradual Africanization of government state-led economic development and neutrality in foreign affairs. Lumumba gained a large popular following giving him more autonomy than contemporaries dependent on Belgian connections. He represented the MNC at the All-African Peoples Conference in Accra Ghana during December 1958. Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah personally impressed by Lumumbas intelligence solidified his pan-Africanist credentials. In late October 1959 authorities arrested Lumumba for inciting an anti-colonial riot in Stanleyville where thirty people died. He received a six-month prison sentence starting the 18th of January 1960 which coincided with the first day of the Congolese Round Table Conference in Brussels. Despite imprisonment the MNC won a convincing majority in December local elections. Strong pressure from delegates upset by Lumumbas trial led to his release allowing attendance at the Brussels conference. The conference declared Congolese independence on the 27th of January 1960 setting the 30th of June 1960 as the official date. National elections held between May 11 and 25 1960 resulted in the MNC winning a plurality. Six weeks before independence Walter Ganshof van der Meersch became Belgiums Minister of African Affairs living effectively as resident minister. On the 8th of June 1960 he flew to Brussels meeting King Baudouin who appointed him to select a prime minister. Ganshof suggested Lumumba Joseph Kasa-Vubu or a third individual but ultimately named Kasa-Vubu president. Lumumba responded by threatening to form his own government presenting it without approval. He called a meeting at the OK Bar in Léopoldville announcing creation of a popular government supported by Pierre Mulele. By the 23rd of June 1960 the Chamber of Deputies voted 74 for 5 against one abstention making the Lumumba government officially invested.