Patrice Lumumba Color I The Eco Tote Bag

A drawing by portrait artist Marie-Claire Laffaire

Material: 80% organic ring-spun and combed cotton, 20% recycled polyester

Weight: 300 G/M²

THE MARTYR OF INDEPENDENCE

PATRICE EMERY LUMUMBA 1925-1961 DRC

The first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Patrice Émery Lumumba, was one of the leading figures in the independence of the Belgian Congo. Born on July 2, 1925, in Onalua, Patrice Emery Lumumba rose to the ranks of the "evolués" in a Belgian Congo marked by paternalism. Converted to Pan-Africanism upon returning from a conference in Accra in December 1958, he won the May 1960 elections and became Prime Minister. On June 30, 1960, his speech on Congolese Independence Day denounced Belgian colonialism and angered King Baudouin. A few days later, the Congo Crisis erupted: mutiny, secessions, and foreign interference. Lumumba attempted to save his country, coveted for its immense resources. He was finally arrested and executed on the night of January 16-17, 1961, along with Okito and Mpolo. The buried and unearthed bodies are dissolved in acid. In June 2022, Belgium returned to Congo a tooth of Lumumba's, guarded by a mercenary.

A creation by the artist Marie-Claire Laffaire