The return of the remains of Patrice Lumumba, hero of Congolese independence and Prime Minister, is the subject of a documentary directed by Benoît Feyt, Dieudo Hamadi and Quentin Noirfalisse. Entitled “Lumumba, the return of a hero”, this film explores the political celebrations linked to the return of the remains, but also what remains of Lumumba in Congo and Belgium.
The preview screening will take place on Thursday June 8 at the Vendôme cinema in Ixelles, Belgium, in the presence of the directors. In this one hour and 26 minute documentary, the directors have tried to find out what has happened to Lumumba since his assassination, which occurred in the middle of the Cold War, at the same time as the wave of African independence, alongside two of his closest associates.
Only one tooth was found after the bodies were dissolved in acid, an act committed by a Belgian police officer, Gérard Soete. It was not until 2016 that human remains were found in Belgium. The former Belgian policeman broke the secret and bragged about it in the media.
Unfortunately, the murder of Lumumba and that of his collaborators have never been elucidated and their main perpetrators have not been punished. In 2000-2001, a parliamentary commission of inquiry had concluded that the Belgian government had ignored the physical integrity of Patrice Lumumba, and had deliberately spread lies about the circumstances of his death.
Patrice Lumumba came from a modest family, but had received a solid education in Christian missionary schools which had enabled him to forge a strong personality. Born in 1925 in Onalua, Belgian Congo, he became a hero of Congolese independence and his name remains associated with the struggles for decolonization in Africa