DR Congo Inters Lumumba Remains After Nationwide Pilgrimage

The scant remains of DR Congo's fiery independence hero Patrice Lumumba were interred on Thursday after a nine-day homage that stirred traumatic memories and national pride

Kinshasa, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2022 ) :The scant remains of DR Congo's fiery independence hero Patrice Lumumba were interred on Thursday after a nine-day homage that stirred traumatic memories and national pride.

"Sleep in peace now," President Felix Tshisekedi said.

Hailing Lumumba as "our national hero," Tshisekedi declared: "May the land of our ancestors be sweet and mild to you." A single gold-crowned tooth, returned by Belgium, is all that remains of the young nationalist.

He was murdered in January 1961 at the age of 35, just months after becoming Congo's first post-colonial prime minister.

In a solemn ceremony coinciding with the country's 62nd anniversary, the remains were interred in a mausoleum beneath a statue of Lumumba on an avenue in the capital Kinshasa that also bears his name.

Didier Shonda, 24, told AFP that he had come from Lumumba's home region of Sankuru for the ceremony.

With the return of the remains "his spirit will no longer wander," said Shonda.

"We now know where to come to replenish our resources to totally free our country and the youth of Africa."