The gold-capped tooth of Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence hero, is protected and has not been stolen, his daughter has informed the BBC.
The information comes as a aid to a nation gripped by worry that the one stays of the nation’s revered first prime minister had been swiped after his mausoleum within the capital, Kinshasa, was vandalised on Monday night time.
However Juliana Lumumba mentioned earlier issues concerning the safety of the positioning had prompted the household to maneuver the tooth to a safer location.
The tooth was solely returned to the Lumumba household by former colonial energy Belgium two years in the past – and had been positioned within the particular memorial constructing.
Lumumba was a lot beloved not simply by many at house however throughout Africa for his outspoken criticism of colonialism – and he grew to become an icon of pan-Africanism.
He was seen as a logo of change and hope after the harrowing years below Belgian rule, throughout which hundreds of thousands of Congolese folks died or had been brutalised.
However inside months of the nation’s independence from Belgium in 1960 he was toppled as prime minister.
On the age of 35 he was shot by a firing squad in January 1961, with the tacit backing of Belgium.
His physique was then dissolved in acid, however Belgian police officer Gerard Soete, who oversaw the destruction, took the tooth as a macabre memento.
The return of Lumumba’s gold tooth in June 2022 was a trigger for celebration in DR Congo – and it was taken on a tour of the huge nation so folks might pay their respects.
The vandalism of the mausoleum has precipitated outrage – and when Tradition Minister Yolande Elebe Mandembo introduced on Tuesday that an investigation had been launched, many feared the worst.
Footage circulated exhibiting {that a} glass door had been smashed to get entry to the chamber the place a coffin may very well be seen.
However Ms Lumumba sought to reassure folks on Wednesday – saying her father’s tooth had not been there on the time of the break-in.
Nonetheless she informed the BBC she felt “anger and unhappiness” that her father’s grave had been disrespected.
The gold tooth of Patrice Lumumba – pictured right here in 2016 – had been preserved in a padded field by Belgian police officer Gerard Soete [Jelle Vermeersch]
Now 69, she spent years lobbying Belgium for the return of the tooth.
“Patrice Lumumba sacrificed himself for the sovereignty and independence of his nation and the Congolese,” she mentioned.
“That is so unrepresentative of our tradition, which respects the graves of our dearly departed.”
Native authorities say 4 suspects have been arrested over the desecration, however their identities haven’t been made public.
Ms Lumumba mentioned the Lumumba Basis needed to take over administration of the mausoleum due to safety worries and had been lobbying the federal government to take action.
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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