Remains of Congo’s independence hero interred amid honors

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The remains of Congo’s independence hero and first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba will be laid to rest in Kinshasa Thursday. The interment in a specially-built mausoleum will be marked by a speech by Congo’s President Felix Tshisikedi. The ceremony is being held on Congo’s independence day, a holiday to mark the day in 1960 when the country became independent from Belgium. Lumumba is widely hailed as the nationalist activist who helped to end colonial rule. He became the country’s first prime minister and was assassinated within a year in 1961. For many in Congo, Lumumba is a symbol of the positive developments the country could have achieved after its independence instead of the decades of dictatorship.