On 17 January 1961, Patrice Emery Lumumba was assassinated by Belgian mercenaries in the breakaway state of Katanga (southern Congo). Why was Lumumba killed? Because he was a relentless, dedicated, intelligent, passionate anti-colonialist, Pan-Africanist and Congolese nationalist; because he had the unstinting support of the Congolese masses; because he stood in the way of Belgium’s plan to transform Congo from a colony into a neo-colony