Remains of Congo’s first leader are returned from Belgium

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The remains of Congo’s independence leader Patrice Lumumba arrived in the capital, Kinshasa, from Belgium Wednesday and will be taken around the country. After leading the struggle for Congo’s independence from colonial power Belgium, Lumumba became the country’s first prime minister before being assassinated six months later in 1961. Immediately after his killing, Lumumba’s body was dismembered and dissolved with acid in an apparent effort to keep any grave from becoming a pilgrimage site. A gold-capped tooth was all that remained and was kept by the Belgian police commissioner who oversaw the destruction of Lumumba’s body. In 2016 the tooth was seized by Belgian officials from the police commissioner’s daughter.