BELGIUM TO HAND OVER REMAINS OF ASSASSINATED DRC PRIME MINISTER PATRICE LUMUMBA
Belgium will today hand over the remains of assassinated Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba to his family, some 60 years after his death.
Lumumba, the first prime minister of an independent DR Congo, was executed only a few months after being voted in. His body was hacked up and his remains dissolved in acid.
A Belgium policeman, who had overseen the destruction of Lumumba’s body, later revealed he has taken a tooth from Lumumba as a souvenir. Lumumba’s family and Congolese authorities are in Belgium for the event.
The tooth will be placed in a box before being placed in a casket and flown to DRC for burial.
The handover of the tooth is seen as one step towards reconciliation between DR Congo and Belgium, its former colonizer.
(Credit: DW)