AFTER THEY KILLED LUMUMBA, EGYPT DID NOT ABANDON HIS FAMILY. NASSER SENT A COLONEL TO SAVE HIS CHILDREN.
Consider what happened after 1961.
Patrice Lumumba was assassinated. Congo was in chaos. Mobutu was hunting Lumumba’s family. Pauline and her children were in danger.
Egypt did not abandon its moral responsibility towards his cause.
On direct orders of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Colonel Saad El-Din El-Shazly undertook the task of securing and evacuating Lumumba’s children from Congo.
El-Shazly had previously commanded an Egyptian battalion that supported Lumumba’s struggle against Belgian occupation. He knew Congo. He knew danger.
The mission was carried out with utmost secrecy until the children arrived safely in Egypt.
Threatened in Congo, Pauline left with her children, including François Lumumba, Lumumba’s son from an earlier relationship. Nasser offered protection and support. The family lived in Cairo for several years, with Egyptian government helping with housing, schooling, and other needs.
Lumumba’s children grew up in Egypt, which was not merely a place of refuge, but a homeland that embraced a cause and a symbol of African liberation.
Pauline later spent time in Belgium and France. She returned to Congo in late 1960s, around 1967-1968, after negotiations and guarantees of safety once government began recognizing Lumumba as national hero. She settled in Kinshasa.
This story confirms Egypt was not only a witness to history, but also a partner in shaping it.
When Congo wanted to kill Lumumba’s blood, Egypt saved it.
