Thursday, 20 January 2011
Ambassador Kamanga: He believed in using national resources for people’s development
The City of Leipzig, (East) Germany held a special ceremony on15th January 2011 to mark the 50th anniversary of the murder of African Patriot Patrice Lumumba.
The theme of the gathering was “Power, Politics, and Resources”. It was organised by The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Solidarity International, Dafrig (German-Africa Society) and the Harald Breuer Foundation.
Addressing the ceremony, H.E. Clémentine Shakembo Kamanga, Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Germany, said: “This is a very big day for me.
Since my arrival in Germany, it is the second time that I have the opportunity to celebrate the memories of Patrice Emery Lumumba. The most important thing is that the people who organised this are not from Africa.
This makes me feel proud that foreigners – German people - can find in the person of Lumumba, someone who stood for the liberty and dignity of people. A person who believed in utilising the resources for the development of his country and its inhabitants”.
There was a moving ceremony with the unveiling of a bust of the murdered African Leader in the gardens of the Studien College Sachsen in the Patrice Lumumba Street which is part of the University of Leipzig (formerly Karl-Marx-University).
This building, previously known as Herder Institute, is the language school where foreign students learn their German before proceeding with their studies. Many African leaders, past and present, went through its portals. For instance Jeff Radebe, Minister of Justice in South Africa, and Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya.
Patrice Lumumba became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Congo after Belgium was forced to end its colonial rule of this mineral-rich country in 1960.
Lumumba, together with two of his ministers Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, were killed by a firing squad made up of Belgium soldiers and renegade Congolese puppets on 17th January 1961 with full connivance of Belgium and its Western partners.
The hands of the CIA loom very large over the whole sordid affair. Even the UN looked the other way. Congo’s mineral wealth was too valuable to fall into the hands of anybody other than Belgium and its NATO Allies.
With Lumumba at the helm, this was not guaranteed. So he had to make way for those who could. A willing stooge was found in the person of Moise Tshombe.
Till this day, nobody has been apprehended for the murder of Lumumba and his comrades, although it is no secret who the assassins were.
A Belgian Police Commissioner, Gerard Soete had no qualms about his participation in this gruesome and heinous crime. In a documentary on German 3SAT TV Programme on 7th October 2004 he boasted: “We chopped his body into pieces. The major part was dissolved in acid and the rest was burnt”.
In November 1961, the Herder Institute in Leipzig erected a monument to honour Patrice Lumumba. In 1989 came the Wende and the true “German patriots” damaged the socle of the Monument and the bust disappeared in 1997.
Dr. Hans Wienhold, and Dafrig on whose executive he serves, have been battling with the university authorities for the replacement of the bust for the past six years.
Their appeal fell on deaf years. Suddenly, with the world becoming alert to the 50th anniversary of the murder, the university chiefs had a change of heart. The result is that Lumumba stands exactly there where he stood for 36 years until he was rudely swept off his pedestal.
The bust was created by Jenny Mucchi-Wiegmann (Genni) in 1961. The replacement is a replica of original that was destroyed in 1997.
Like decent people everywhere, Genni was moved by the picture of Lumumba in chains, a picture that was printed throughout the world. She made a life size sculpture if it which is now housed in the Academy of Arts in Berlin. That same picture is the model for the bust she created that stands in Leipzig.
Just before her death in 1969, Genni (1895-1969) disclosed what motivated her to produce these two works of art: “That picture of Lumumba and his comrades in handcuffs at the airport in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) after their arrest by Mobutu with the connivance of the UN and dragged to the prison in Thysville was like a stab in the back.
I, like millions of people throughout the world, was terribly touched and felt for this great fighter for the freedom of his country. I was worried for his safety.
I saw a photograph where he sat on the ground with his hands in handcuffs. I was impressed by his face and his proud posture. I was reminded of the words that he uttered to journalists a few days before his arrest.
‘One day you will return to the Congo. You will find a free country; rich; blossoming; a land without any signs of oppression’. One could read this firm belief in his face. But one could also read the trials of suffering which he must have had to go through.
“I saw in him not only the famous statesman, but also a troubled human being deeply in thought. This suffering and posture spurred me to express it in a sculpture.
I began to work on it and was quite far advanced when the message came that Lumumba was murdered. With a very heavy heart I was able to complete the work”.
With the display of this bust of Patrice Lumumba, Leipzig is the only city in Germany which displays the sculpture of an African leader.
By Eric Singh
Pictures by SODI and Karin Singh
Ambassador Kamanga: He believed in using national resources for people’s development
The City of Leipzig, (East) Germany held a special ceremony on15th January 2011 to mark the 50th anniversary of the murder of African Patriot Patrice Lumumba.
The theme of the gathering was “Power, Politics, and Resources”. It was organised by The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Solidarity International, Dafrig (German-Africa Society) and the Harald Breuer Foundation.
Addressing the ceremony, H.E. Clémentine Shakembo Kamanga, Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Germany, said: “This is a very big day for me.
Since my arrival in Germany, it is the second time that I have the opportunity to celebrate the memories of Patrice Emery Lumumba. The most important thing is that the people who organised this are not from Africa.
This makes me feel proud that foreigners – German people - can find in the person of Lumumba, someone who stood for the liberty and dignity of people. A person who believed in utilising the resources for the development of his country and its inhabitants”.
There was a moving ceremony with the unveiling of a bust of the murdered African Leader in the gardens of the Studien College Sachsen in the Patrice Lumumba Street which is part of the University of Leipzig (formerly Karl-Marx-University).
This building, previously known as Herder Institute, is the language school where foreign students learn their German before proceeding with their studies. Many African leaders, past and present, went through its portals. For instance Jeff Radebe, Minister of Justice in South Africa, and Prime Minister Raila Odinga of Kenya.
Patrice Lumumba became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Congo after Belgium was forced to end its colonial rule of this mineral-rich country in 1960.
Lumumba, together with two of his ministers Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, were killed by a firing squad made up of Belgium soldiers and renegade Congolese puppets on 17th January 1961 with full connivance of Belgium and its Western partners.
The hands of the CIA loom very large over the whole sordid affair. Even the UN looked the other way. Congo’s mineral wealth was too valuable to fall into the hands of anybody other than Belgium and its NATO Allies.
With Lumumba at the helm, this was not guaranteed. So he had to make way for those who could. A willing stooge was found in the person of Moise Tshombe.
Till this day, nobody has been apprehended for the murder of Lumumba and his comrades, although it is no secret who the assassins were.
A Belgian Police Commissioner, Gerard Soete had no qualms about his participation in this gruesome and heinous crime. In a documentary on German 3SAT TV Programme on 7th October 2004 he boasted: “We chopped his body into pieces. The major part was dissolved in acid and the rest was burnt”.
In November 1961, the Herder Institute in Leipzig erected a monument to honour Patrice Lumumba. In 1989 came the Wende and the true “German patriots” damaged the socle of the Monument and the bust disappeared in 1997.
Dr. Hans Wienhold, and Dafrig on whose executive he serves, have been battling with the university authorities for the replacement of the bust for the past six years.
Their appeal fell on deaf years. Suddenly, with the world becoming alert to the 50th anniversary of the murder, the university chiefs had a change of heart. The result is that Lumumba stands exactly there where he stood for 36 years until he was rudely swept off his pedestal.
The bust was created by Jenny Mucchi-Wiegmann (Genni) in 1961. The replacement is a replica of original that was destroyed in 1997.
Like decent people everywhere, Genni was moved by the picture of Lumumba in chains, a picture that was printed throughout the world. She made a life size sculpture if it which is now housed in the Academy of Arts in Berlin. That same picture is the model for the bust she created that stands in Leipzig.
Just before her death in 1969, Genni (1895-1969) disclosed what motivated her to produce these two works of art: “That picture of Lumumba and his comrades in handcuffs at the airport in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) after their arrest by Mobutu with the connivance of the UN and dragged to the prison in Thysville was like a stab in the back.
I, like millions of people throughout the world, was terribly touched and felt for this great fighter for the freedom of his country. I was worried for his safety.
I saw a photograph where he sat on the ground with his hands in handcuffs. I was impressed by his face and his proud posture. I was reminded of the words that he uttered to journalists a few days before his arrest.
‘One day you will return to the Congo. You will find a free country; rich; blossoming; a land without any signs of oppression’. One could read this firm belief in his face. But one could also read the trials of suffering which he must have had to go through.
“I saw in him not only the famous statesman, but also a troubled human being deeply in thought. This suffering and posture spurred me to express it in a sculpture.
I began to work on it and was quite far advanced when the message came that Lumumba was murdered. With a very heavy heart I was able to complete the work”.
With the display of this bust of Patrice Lumumba, Leipzig is the only city in Germany which displays the sculpture of an African leader.
By Eric Singh
Pictures by SODI and Karin Singh
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