🇨🇩 Congo says mausoleum holding independence hero Lumumba’s gold-capped tooth is vandalized
Congo’s government says the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba in the capital, Kinshasa, has been vandalized. It’s not immediately clear whether Lumumba’s remains — a single gold-capped tooth — were damaged or stolen.
A mausoleum curator told the national press agency that the coffin containing the tooth was broken Monday.
The glass doors were smashed and four suspects were arrested, the deputy mayor of the neighborhood where the mausoleum is located told the country’s main radio channel. He added that he couldn’t confirm whether the tooth was stolen or not.
It’s not clear who was responsible for the act of vandalism, Congo’s ministry of culture said in a statement Tuesday.
The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.
#DRCongo
@africaintel
Congo’s government says the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba in the capital, Kinshasa, has been vandalized. It’s not immediately clear whether Lumumba’s remains — a single gold-capped tooth — were damaged or stolen.
A mausoleum curator told the national press agency that the coffin containing the tooth was broken Monday.
The glass doors were smashed and four suspects were arrested, the deputy mayor of the neighborhood where the mausoleum is located told the country’s main radio channel. He added that he couldn’t confirm whether the tooth was stolen or not.
It’s not clear who was responsible for the act of vandalism, Congo’s ministry of culture said in a statement Tuesday.
The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.
#DRCongo
@africaintel