They broke into the mausoleum, destroyed the coffin with Patrice Lumumba's famous tooth

The tooth of the murdered Congolese national hero Patrice Lumumba was stolen years ago by Belgian policeman Gérard Soete and was kept by him as “a kind of hunting trophy”. In 2022, it was ceremonially returned to the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On Monday, according to the Congolese ACP news agency, the mausoleum where he was kept was broken into. The glass door and the coffin containing the only remaining remains of the murdered leader were destroyed.

Culture Minister Yolande Elebe could not confirm to AFP whether the tooth was stolen. “We have to wait for the police investigation to find out more,” she said.

The history of the tooth that became a national relic is recalled by the Politico website. In 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the first democratically elected prime minister of the country that for decades was a colony called the Belgian Congo. The new government lasted only three months. He was overthrown by the forces of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Lumumba himself was assassinated in January 1961.

After the assassination, the prime minister's body was buried, but then it was exhumed, quartered and dissolved in acid. The Belgian policeman, Gérard Soete, who was present took the politician's gold tooth, as he later said, as “a kind of hunting trophy”. It was the only remaining remains of the murdered leader.

The tooth was not heard from for almost 40 years, until Soete admitted on television to participate in Lumumba's murder and showed his “trophy”. Years later, the tooth was taken from the home of the former policeman's daughter. In June 2022, the government Belgium he handed it over to the family of the murdered person. The ceremony, attended by the Prime Minister of Belgium, took place in Brussels. “In the presence of the family, I would like to apologize on behalf of the Belgian government,” Alexander De Croo said at the time, adding that Belgian ministers from the early 1960s bore “moral responsibility” for Lumumba's torture and murder.

– I can't say I feel happy, but it's good for us that we can bury our loved one. His soul will be able to rest in peace, said one of Lumumba's sons, Roland, quoted by the Guardian.

The recovered national relic in the form of a tooth of a national hero traveled around the country and was then deposited in the capital in Kinshasa. On Tuesday, the DRC Ministry of Culture reported a break-in at the mausoleum. The statement called the act of vandalism “unacceptable.” The authorities announced they would take “severe measures” to punish those responsible.

Congo was a Belgian colony for over half a century, from 1902 until independence in 1960. Before that, King Leopold II of Belgium brutally occupied the country, introducing a forced labor regime and killing up to 10 million people.

Historians say that when Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union for help in suppressing a secessionist movement in one region of the DRC, he fell out of favor USA and Belgium. He also offended the authorities in Brussels with a famous speech in which he sharply criticized the colonization of his country by the Belgians.

Western powers did not intervene when Lumumba was sent to prison. The Belgian parliament considers the government in Brussels “morally responsible” for his murder.