Overview
Patrice Lumumba became the first Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after its independence from Belgium in 1960. His pan-Africanist views and appeals to the Soviet Union for support during the "Congo Crisis" made him a primary target for Western intelligence agencies during the Cold War.
The Plot
A 2001 Belgian parliamentary commission and declassified U.S. documents confirmed that both Belgium and the CIA were deeply involved in his removal. The CIA, under the code name "Project Wizard," initially dispatched a chemist to the Congo with a lethal poison intended for Lumumba's toothbrush, though this specific plan was never executed.
Execution and Dissolution
Lumumba was eventually captured by rival Congolese forces backed by Belgium. On January 17, 1961, he was executed by a firing squad in the presence of Belgian officers. To ensure no grave could become a site of pilgrimage, his body was later exhumed, dismembered, and dissolved in sulfuric acid.