Lumumba Disciple's Fight For A Free Congo

Many people worldwide celebrate the life and legacy of Congolese Pan-Africanist Patrice Lumumba (1925-61). After his assassination at the hands of Western-backed Congolese forces, guerilla warfare broke out across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to restore the power of revolutionary Pan-Africanists and socialists.

African Stream’s Inem Richardson delves into the story of Pierre Mulele (1929-68), a ‘Lumumbaist’ who led the historic Kwilu Rebellion in the country’s centre while revolutionaries waged the Simba rebellion in Eastern Congo. These socialist revolutionaries drew inspiration from Pan-Africanists, such as Lumumba and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72), as well as Karl Marx (1818-83), Vladimir Lenin (1870-2024), and Mao Zedong (1893-1976). The Simba rebellion led to the declaration of a Peoples’ Republic of the Congo, with Stanleyville as the capital (not to be confused with the Peoples’ Republic of the Congo with Brazzaville as the capital). Countries such as China and Cuba provided material support and training to the rebels. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary who won a place in history for his role during the Cuban revolution, travelled with other Cuban militants in the Congo to fight alongside the Congolese guerillas.

Women also played a key role in the rebellion, with one scholar estimating women made up as much as 25 to 30 per cent of Kwilu rebels. Léonie Abo, now 80 years old, stands out as a combattant who fought alongside her husband, Pierre Mulele.

Ultimately, internal disorganisation, low morale, and competing factions within the rebel forces crushed both the Simba and Kwilu rebellions. Some say various imperialist forces also worked together to thwart a revolution and prop up reactionaries.

Nevertheless, Mulele, like Lumumba, remains a hero in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today.

Sources:

https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1989/03/BRAECKMAN/41604

https://jacobin.com/2021/11/us-cia-intervention-africa-white-malice-susan-williams-book-review

https://roape.net/2017/04/05/che-guevara-congo

https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1989/03/BRAECKMAN/41604

https://bokundoli.org/doc/pierre-mulele

(page 82)

https://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/can-a-fledgling-democracy-take-flight-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RSPUndMe9NHIpwWP2OgjSXy0fu-uV3jX/view?usp=sharing

https://www.jstor.org/stable/177537?read-now=1&seq=18#page_scan_tab_contents

(page 103)

https://munuc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OAU.pdf