Lumumba

Leo Zeilig is a writer and researcher. He has written extensively on African politics and history, and biographies on some of Africa’s most important political thinkers and revolutionaries. Leo is also a novelist, and his critically acclaimed novel Eddie the Kid was published by Zero Books.Yusuf Serunkuma is a columnist for the Ugandan newspaper, The Observer. He is also an essayist and playwright. His plays include The Snake Farmers and The Meat Festivals, both published by Fountain Publishers in Kampala. He is also the author of the recent collection of anti-colonialist essays, Surrounded, and publisher of the pan-African imprint Editor House Facility.Ludo De Witte is a sociologist and a writer. He is author of the Dutch work Crisis in Kongo and has researched two broadcast television documentaries on Patrice Lumumba.

Sympathetic, accessible, and highly readable.

• Introduction xiiiLéopold’s Congo 1Early Years: Life in Onalua 17Stanleyville: Bright Lights, Big City 31Léopoldville: City of Hope 75Towards Independence 87Independence and Assassination 121Lumumba’s Legacy 175Sources and acknowledgements 191Notes 195Index 205