What happened to Patrice Lumumba, and how did Mobutu rise with foreign help?

"The volume provides additional detail about the assassination plot against Lumumba and his eventual death at the hands of tribal rivals abetted by their Belgian allies, substantiating the findings of a Belgian parliamentary inquiry in 2001."

"The activities included contacts with oppositionists who were working to oust Lumumba with parliamentary action; payments to army commander Mobutu to ensure the loyalty of key officers and the support of legis"

"A month later, Mobutu—“our only anchor to the windward” and “the best man… to act as a balance wheel between the contending political leaders,” asserted CIA—staged a bloodless coup and took over the government."

"“If Congo deteriorates and Western influence fades rapidly,” the chief of CIA’s Africa Division (AF) wrote in June 1960, 10 days before the Congo gained its independence, the “Bloc will have a feast and will not need to work very hard for it.”"

"The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi 1 section of the Expo stretched out for 20 acres (Wyvekens 1989, 158)."

"The theme of the display was the material and spiritual uplifting of the natives achieved by fifty years of Belgian rule."

"As the section’s president, L. Bruneel, proclaimed, “[The Congo Section] simply aims at showing men of good faith, what the Congo has become since Belgium has taken its administration in hand, and what are its future prospects, if peace and racial harmony continue to prevail in Central Africa” (quoted in The Belgian Congo To-Day , April 1958, 12)."

"It is exactly fifty years ago, that Belgium became responsible for the administration of vast territories in Central Africa."

"Mobutu’s early efforts to support a pro-Western government and his ties to the military placed him in good stead with Devlin, who informed Mobutu of a plot to assassinate him on September 18."

"Lumumba, who was blamed for the plot, was arrested and ultimately killed on January 17, 1961."

"Planes provided by the Department of Defense, flown by pilots supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency, augmented the CNA’s efforts against an increasingly robust rebel insurgency, which received support from neighboring African nations, the Soviet bloc and Chinese Communists."

"Mobutu orchestrated another coup d’état on November 25, 1965, removed both the President and Prime Minister, and took control of the government."

"the United States repeatedly attempted to create a stable, pro-Western regime through vote buying and financial support for pro-Western candidates. Mobutu also received funds to help him gain the loyalty of the CNA and avoid rebellion in the ranks."

"Le 14 septembre 1960 , le colonel Joseph Mobutu (plus tard Mobutu Sese Seko) organise un coup d'État avec l'aide de Joseph Kasavubu et accède lui-même au pouvoir. Lumumba est arrêté par les troupes de Mobutu le 1 er décembre 1960 ."

"Cette même nuit, Lumumba et ses deux compagnons auraient été exécutés dans des circonstances jamais pleinement élucidées. [...] Son corps n'a jamais été retrouvé et aurait été dissous dans 200 litres d' acide sulfurique par Gérard Soete en 1961"

"Ce crime fut considéré comme «l'assassinat le plus important du XXe siècle» [ 1 ] . Outre Lumumba, le ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports, Maurice Mpolo , le vice-président du Sénat, Joseph Okito (tous trois assassinés sous la supervision de Moïse Tshombe )"

"s à Lumumba, en plus d'un soutien politique, et dans le cas de Mobutu avec des armes et un entraînement militaire."

"The Lumumba plot: the secret history of the CIA and a Cold War assassination (2024)"

"Congo gained its independence from Belgium on June 30, 1960, and a consensual government was formed in which the moderate Joseph Kasavubu became president, and the hard-line nationalist Patrice Lumumba prime minister."

"Le Premier ministre du Congo, Patrice Lumumba , est arrêté en septembre 1960 à la suite de ses tensions grandissantes avec le Président Joseph Kasa-Vubu et le chef de l'armée Joseph Mobutu ."

"Moise Tshombe announced the secession of Katanga province from the Congo. As a result, the Congolese government asked the United Nations to intervene to restore order and remove the Belgian forces from the country."

"Le gouvernement congolais livre finalement son prisonnier au gouvernement katangais de Moïse Tshombe le 17 janvier 1961 . Il meurt le même soir, entre 21 h 40 et 21 h 43 d'après le rapport d'enquête belge."

"After that, Patrice Lumumba threatened to expel the United Nations forces and invite the Soviet Union to intervene. This threat raised the concerns of the American administration, and the CIA classified him as Castro or worse"

"En 1963 , la prise du Katanga par les forces des Nations unies contraint Moïse Tshombe à l'exil vers la Rhodésie du Nord (actuelle Zambie ), et plus tard vers l' Espagne ."

"he was ousted from the position of Prime Minister (by a coup led by the Chief of Staff of the Congolese army Joseph Mobutu) and placed under house arrest"

"Il bénéficie en effet du soutien des réseaux de Jacques Foccart , le « monsieur Afrique » de l’Élysée [ 1 ] ."

"Le régime de Mobutu demande son extradition, qui aurait selon toute vraisemblance conduit à son exécution au Congo, refusée par Boumédiène qui déclare préférer un procès international [ 12 ] ."

"Lumumba fled from his residence, to be arrested by the forces of Joseph Mobutu, and then transferred to Katanga province, where he was handed over to the father of his enemies, Moise Tshombe, to be killed there"