Why did the Congo fall into crisis within weeks of independence, and what happened to Patrice Lumumba?

The Congo fell into crisis because independence came with almost no preparation, the army mutinied within days, Belgium backed a breakaway province, and the Cold War rivals stepped in. The country became independent from Belgium on 30 June 1960. Minimal preparations had been made, and many issues, such as federalism and ethnic nationalism, remained unresolved. In the first week of July an army mutiny broke out. Belgium sent troops to protect fleeing white citizens, and Katanga and South Kasai seceded with Belgian support.

At the independence ceremony King Baudouin praised developments under colonialism, and spoke of the genius of his great-granduncle Leopold II, who had held the Congo as a personal colony. Patrice Lumumba, the new prime minister, had not been scheduled to speak. He gave an impromptu speech reminding the audience that independence had not been granted magnanimously by Belgium.

The crisis then widened. The United Nations deployed peacekeepers, but its Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjold, refused to use them to help the central government fight the secessionists. Lumumba called for help from the Soviet Union, which sent military advisers. Both superpowers saw the Congo as a prize: its resources included uranium. The crisis was a proxy conflict in the Cold War, and around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed, a rough estimate rather than a count.

Lumumba was taken captive after a coup by Mobutu, sent to the breakaway province of Katanga, and executed there on 17 January 1961 on the orders of Katangan leaders, with Belgian officers present. In 2001 historians appointed by the Belgian parliament concluded that Belgian government authorities helped to oust him and supported his transfer to Katanga without ruling out that he might be executed there. In 2002 Belgium formally apologised, admitting moral responsibility.