Patrice Lumumba's last letter (in English & French) written shortly before
his eventual murder by the traitors of Africa:
My dear wife,
I am writing these words not knowing whether they will reach you, when they
will reach you, and whether I shall still be alive when you read them. All
through my struggle for the independence of my country, I have never doubted
for a single instant the final triumph of the sacred cause to which my
companions and I have devoted all our lives. But what we wished for our
country, its right to an honourable life, to unstained dignity, to
independence without restrictions, was never desired by the Belgian
imperialists and the Western allies, who found direct and indirect support,
both deliberate and unintentional, amongst certain high officials of the
United Nations, that organization in which we placed all our trust when we
called on its assistance.
They have corrupted some of our compatriots and bribed others. They have
helped to distort the truth and bring our independence into dishonour. How
could I speak otherwise? Dead or alive, free or in prison by order of the
imperialists, it is not myself who counts. It is the Congo, it is our poor
people for whom independence has been transformed into a cage from whose
confines the outside world looks on us, sometimes with kindly sympathy, but
at other times with joy and pleasure.
But my faith will remain unshakeable. I know and I feel in my heart that
sooner or later my people will rid themselves of all their enemies, both
internal and external, and that they will rise as one man to say No to the
degradation and shame of colonialism, and regain their dignity in the clear
light of the sun.
We are not alone. Africa, Asia and the free liberated people from all
corners of the world will always be found at the side of the millions of
Congolese who will not abandon the struggle until the day when there are no
longer any colonialists and their mercenaries in our country. As to my
children whom I leave and whom I may never see again, I should like them to
be told that it is for them, as it is for every Congolese, to accomplish the
sacred task of reconstructing our independence and our sovereignty: for
without dignity there is no liberty, without justice there is no dignity,
and without independence there are no free men. Neither brutality, nor
cruelty nor torture will ever bring me to ask for mercy, for I prefer to die
with my head unbowed, my faith unshakable and with profound trust in the
destiny of my country, rather than live under subjection and disregarding
sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the
history that is taught in Brussels, Paris, Washington or in the United
Nations, but the history which will be taught in the countries freed from
imperialism and its puppets. Africa will write its own history, and to the
north and south of the Sahara, it will be a glorious and dignified history.
Do not weep for me, my dear wife. I know that my country, which is suffering
so much, will know how to defend its independence and its liberty.
Long live the Congo! Long live Africa!
PATRICE
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
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