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A review essay on a film directed by Raoul Peck Lumumba (US: Zeitgeist Films, 2000). Patrice Lumumba was the first prime minister of Congo-Leopoldville & a martyr of African independence, at age 35, in 1961. The film is considered to be impressively authentic, in that Peck bases his portrayal of events on the most accurate accounts that can be identified, & he is sympathetic to his subject but objective regarding Lumumba's limitations. A major sacrifice for the sake of simplicity is the omission of the UN aspect of the story & Lumumba's interactions with Dag Hammarskjold (a relationship that is the focus of Conor Cruise O'Brien's play, "Murderous Angels"). The factors leading to Lumumba's downfall include Belgian aggression, inaction by the UN, his own mercurial personality & erratic style, & the dissolution of his political alliances, one of which was with Joseph Mobutu. Lumumba's final moments of life are skillfully intercut with a scene, five years hence, in which Mobutu, as president, proclaims Lumumba a martyr & national hero. M. S. Northcutt

1925 geboren, aufgewachsen im "Herz der Finsternis" (Joseph Conrad), entkam er der Provinz und stieg auf zum ersten frei gewählten Premier des Kongo - Patrice Émery Lumumba. Er versuchte das Unmögliche, als er sein Land vom belgischen Kolonialsystem unabhängig machen und aus der kolonialen Umklammerung lösen wollte. Eine Treibjagd westlicher Geheimdienste folgte und endete am 17. Januar 1961 tragisch in Kongo-Katanga: Mit der Ermordung des charismatischen Redners, Denkers und erklärten Panafrikaners war ein Epochenwechsel hin zu einem vereinten, freien Afrika vorerst gescheitert. Auch das geostrategisch bedeutende, rohstoffreiche Land am Kongo-Strom würde in neokolonialen Strukturen verharren. "Tot, hört Lumumba auf, Person zu sein, und wird das ganze Afrika, mit seinem Einigungswillen, der Vielfalt seiner sozialen und politischen Systeme, seinen Spaltungen, seinen Zwistigkeiten, seiner Kraft und seiner Machtlosigkeit." (Jean-Paul Sartre) Diese erste deutschsprachige Biografie des Freiheitskämpfers Lumumba rekonstruiert zugleich die dramatischen Vorgänge im "afrikanischen Jahr" 1960

It is no coincidence that a historical figure such as Patrice Emery Lumumba, independent Congo's first prime minister, who was killed in 1961, has lived in the realm of the cultural imaginary and occupied an afterlife in the arts. After all, his project remained unfinished and his corpse unburied. The figure of Lumumba has been imagined through painting, photography, cinema, poetry, literature, theatre, music, sculpture, fashion, cartoons and stamps, and also through historiography and in public space. Reverting to either beatifying or diabolising his persona, no art form has been able to escape and remain indifferent to Lumumba. Artists observe the memory and the unresolved suffering that inscribed itself both upon Lumumba's body and within the history of Congo. If Lumumba - as an icon - lives on today, it is because the need for decolonisation does as well. Rather than seeking to unravel the truth of actual events surrounding the historical Lumumba, this book engages with his representations. What is more, it considers every historiography as inherently embedded in iconography. Film scholars, art critics, historians, philosophers, and anthropologists discuss the rich iconographic heritage inspired by Lumumba. Furthermore, 'Lumumba's Iconography in the Arts' offers unique testimonies by a number of artists who have contributed to Lumumba's polymorphic iconography, such as Marlène Dumas, Luc Tuymans, Raoul Peck, and Tshibumba Matulu, and includes contributions by such highly acclaimed scholars as Gayatri Spivak, Johannes Fabian, Bogumil Jewsiewicky, and Elikia M'Bokolo

The Lumumba inquiryIn his reply, E. Gerard, one of the experts of the parliamentary inquiry committee, comments on four aspects dealt with in the reviews of the Lumumba affair. One should distinguish between the judgment of the committee and the experts' report as to their respective nature. The experts want their conclusions, which are the result of historical research, to be part of an ongoing scientific debate. When carrying out their research they focussed on the professional standards of their metier, not the considerations of the raison d'état. By conducting a careful and thorough analysis of written and oral sources, they tried to bridge the gap between fact and fiction to lay a solid foundation for assessing the events around this controversial case. They put forward the concept of "moral responsibility' to make it clear that the Belgian government, although not actually an accomplice in a murder plot, cannot be exempted from any responsibility in the developments that led to the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. In this way, they try to escape the deadlock created by a structural approach towards history.

How and why did the Congolese elite turn from loyal intermediaries into opponents of the colonial state? This book seeks to enrich our understanding of the political and cultural processes culminating in the tumultuous decolonization of the Belgian Congo. Focusing on the making of an African bourgeoisie, the book illuminates the so-called évolués' social worlds, cultural self-representations, daily life and political struggles.