Patrice Lumumba: Speech at the Proclamation of Congolese Independence

Audience

Lumumba was addressing those present in the Palace of the Nation in Kinshasa, on Independence Day. The audience included the new political class of the Republic of Congo (deputies, senators, and ministers) but also key representatives of the former colonial power, including King Baudouin. Lumumba's speech is sometimes interpreted as a response to the paternalistic speech of King Baudouin. This cannot be literally true, since Lumumba prepared his speech and had it duplicated beforehand, when he had not yet heard what the king had to say. Clearly however, he could anticipate a paternalistic speech that glossed over the suffering of the Congolese.

Lumumba was also speaking to his rival, Joseph Kasavubu, elected president of Congo with the support of the deputies of the MNC-Lumumba. Lumumba considered Kasavubu to be a figurehead like a European constitutional monarch, and according to his adviser, Thomas Kanza, he was furious that the president had not consulted with the prime minister or even shared his text before delivering it.

Lumumba likewise was addressing the citizens of the vast former colony. His speech was recorded and broadcast over the radio. Finally, Lumumba clearly was speaking to future generations of Congolese. As he declared, June 30, 1960, must be “a date whose meaning you will teach your children with pride, so that they in turn will tell their children and their children's children the glorious story of our struggle for independence.”