6 arrested over break-in at Lumumba’s Mausoleum in Kinshasa

Congolese police have detained six individuals in connection with a break-in and vandalism at the mausoleum of Patrice Lumumba, the country’s assassinated independence leader, in Kinshasa earlier this week.

The incident, which occurred on Monday, involved the breaking of a case that held a gold-capped tooth, the last remaining relic of Lumumba after his assassination in 1961. Authorities have not yet confirmed the whereabouts of the tooth following the break-in.

Police announced the arrests on Wednesday, stating they are still searching for two additional suspects.

Jacquemin Shabani, Congo’s interior minister, reassured the public that the relic was not damaged during the incident. “We guarantee that the tooth is safe and secure,” Shabani said, though he provided few other details.

The return of Lumumba’s tooth from Belgium in 2022 was a moment of national pride, with the tooth traveling across Congo for public viewings and tributes. Jean-Jacques Lumumba, the late leader’s grandson, expressed relief at the arrests but criticized the government’s neglect of the mausoleum. “We are pleased that those responsible have been caught, but we regret the lack of care the authorities have shown toward the mausoleum,” he said. “Rest assured, the relic is now in a highly secure location, though we cannot disclose where.”

Patrice Lumumba is remembered as a symbol of Congo’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. As the country’s first prime minister, Lumumba quickly became a key figure in Africa’s post-colonial movement. However, his tenure was cut short when he was assassinated in 1961, and his body was dismembered and dissolved in acid in an effort to prevent his grave from becoming a site of pilgrimage.

For many in Congo, Lumumba represents what the country could have achieved had he survived and led. Instead, the nation fell into years of dictatorship, marked by widespread corruption and the exploitation of its resources. Lumumba’s death cleared the way for the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko, who took control of the country, renamed it Zaire, and ruled with Western backing until his death in 1997.

While Lumumba’s assassination is often attributed to local separatists, suspicions linger about the involvement of Belgium and the United States, both of which had concerns over his alleged Communist sympathies.

The gold-capped tooth, which had been kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of Lumumba’s body, was returned to Congo in 2022 after Belgian authorities seized it from the commissioner’s daughter. The tooth’s repatriation followed a visit by King Philippe of Belgium, who expressed regret for his country’s colonial actions in Congo.