Patrice Lumumba: Speech at the opening of the All-African Conference in Leopoldville

Ministers,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear comrades,

The fighting Congolese people are proud and happy to receive their brothers-in-arms in their country today.
For my government, for us Congolese, your presence here at such a moment is the most striking proof of the African reality whose existence our enemies have always denied and are still attempting to deny. But you, of course, know that that reality is even more stubborn than they, and that Africa lives on and fights. She refuses to die to justify the arguments about the backwardness of our history, a history we have made with our hands, our skins, and our blood.
It is at conferences such as this that we first became conscious of our character, of our growing solidarity. When at our first conferences, which were held in various cities in Africa, we brought up the problem of decolonization, the imperialists never expected we would be successful. However, since the first Conference of the Peoples of Africa in Accra¹ in December 1958 we have traversed the entire road of the liberation of our continent together.
You will recall the upsurge of the liberation struggle of the peoples of Angola, Algeria, the Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Nyasaland² and Rhodesia³ after the Conference in Accra, and of Ruanda-Urundi⁴ today. You will remember that a decisive step forward was taken after that historic Conference. Nothing, neither bullets, nor repressions, could stop this popular movement.
The work of this Conference is aimed at accelerating the movement for the independence of the African continent.
Ministers, dear fighters for the freedom of Africa, it is your duty to show the world and those who sneer at us that nothing can deter us from liberating Africa, which is our common aim. We can achieve this aim only in solidarity and unity. Our solidarity will have meaning only when it is boundless and when we are convinced that Africa’s destiny is indivisible.
Such are the deep-going principles of the work you will have to do. This meeting will prepare the ground for a Summit Conference at which our countries will have to speak on:

1. The unqualified support of all the African states in the general struggle for a Pan-African bloc;
2. A policy of neutralism with the purpose of achieving genuine independence;
3. The breaking down of colonial barriers through cultural exchanges;
4. Trade agreements between the African states;
5. Africa’s position with regard to the European Common Market;
6. Military cooperation;
7. The building of a powerful radio station in Leopoldville⁵ with the aid of all the African states;
8. The creation of a research center in Leopoldville.

Ministers, you have come into contact with the reality of the Congo here, in the very heart of the crisis that we shall have to resolve.
Your confidence in the future of our continent will unquestionably help you to complete your work successfully. Your principal purpose is to prepare a meeting of our heads of state, who will indeed establish African unity, for whose sake you have responded to our appeal.
You know the origin of what is today called the Congolese crisis,⁶ which is actually only a continuation of the struggle between the forces of pressure and the forces of liberation. At the very outset of the Belgian aggression, my government, the guarantor and representative of the sovereignty of the Congolese nation, decided to appeal to the United Nations. The UN has responded. And so has the free world. Belgium has been condemned. I went to New York to show world public opinion the moving forces of the Congolese drama.
Upon our return from the United States, we replied to the invitation of the heads of the free African states, who publicly adopted an explicit position and unanimously extended to us their fraternal support. From this rostrum I express my gratitude to President Bourguiba,⁷ His Majesty Mohammed V,⁸ President Sékou Touré,⁹ President Tubman,¹⁰ President Nkrumah,¹¹ and President Olympio,¹² whom I had the honor to meet at this decisive moment. I regret that material difficulties prevented me from replying to the invitation of President Nasser¹³ and His Majesty Haile Selassie.¹⁴
All of them, fighting for African unity, have said “No” to the strangulation of Africa. All of them immediately realized that the attempts of the imperialists to restore their rule threaten not only the independence of the Congo but also the existence of all the independent states of Africa. They all realized that if the Congo perishes, the whole of Africa will be plunged into the gloom of defeat and bondage.
That is further striking proof of African unity. It is concrete testimony of the unity that we need in the face of imperialism’s monstrous appetite.
All statesmen are agreed that this reality is not debated but fought for, so that it may be defended.
We have gathered here in order that together we may defend Africa, our patrimony. In reply to the actions of the imperialist states, for whom Belgium is only an instrument, we must unite the resistance front of the free and fighting nations of Africa. We must oppose the enemies of freedom with a coalition of free men. Our common destiny is now being decided here in the Congo.
It is, in effect, here, that the last act of Africa’s emancipation and rehabilitation is being played. In extending the struggle, whose primary object was to save the dignity of the African, the Congolese people have chosen independence. In doing so, they were aware that a single blow would not free them from colonial fetters, that juridical independence was only the first step, that a further long and trying effort would be required. The road we have chosen is not an easy one, but it is the road of pride and freedom of man.
We were aware that as long as the country was dependent, as long as she did not take her destiny into her own hands, the main aspect would be lacking. This concerns the other colonies, no matter what their standard of life is or what positive aspects of the colonial system they have.
We have declared our desire for speedy independence without a transition period and without compromises with such emphasis because we have suffered more mockery, insults, and humiliation than anybody else.
What purpose could delays serve when we already knew that sooner or later we would have to revise and reexamine everything? We had to create a new system adapted to the requirements of purely African evolution, change the methods forced on us and, in particular, find ourselves and free ourselves from the mental attitudes and various complexes in which colonization kept us for centuries.
We were offered a choice between liberation and the continuation of bondage. There can be no compromise between freedom and slavery. We chose to pay the price of freedom.
The classical methods of the colonialists, which we all knew or still partially know, are particularly vital here: surviving presences of military occupation, tribal disunity, sustained and encouraged over a long period, and destructive political opposition, planned, directed, and paid.
You know how difficult it has been for a newly independent state to get rid of the military bases installed by the former occupying powers. We must declare here and now that henceforth Africa refuses to maintain the armed forces of the imperialists in its territory. There must be no more Bizertes,¹⁵ Kitonas,¹⁶ Kaminas,¹⁷ and Sidi Slimanes.¹⁸ We have our own armies to defend our countries.
Our armed forces, which are victims of machinations, are likewise freeing themselves from the colonial organization in order to have all the qualities of a national army under Congolese leadership.
Our internal difficulties, tribal war, and the nuclei of political opposition seemed to have been accidentally concentrated in the regions with our richest mineral and power resources. We know how all this was organized and, in particular, who supports it today in our house.
Our Katanga¹⁹ because of its uranium, copper, and gold, and our Bakwanga²⁰ in Kasai, because of its diamonds, have become hotbeds of imperialist intrigues. The object of these intrigues is to recapture economic control of our country.
But one thing is certain—I solemnly declare that the Congolese people will never again let themselves be exploited, that all leaders who will strive to direct them to that road will be thrown out of the community.
The resonance that has now been caused by the Congolese problem shows the weight that Africa has in the world today. Our countries, which only yesterday they wanted to ignore as colonial countries, are today causing the old world concern here in Africa. Let them worry about what belongs to them. That is not our affair. Our future, our destiny, a free Africa, is our affair.
This is our year, which you have witnessed and shared in. It is the year of our undisputed victory. It is the year of heroic, blood-drenched Algeria, of Algeria the martyr and example of struggle. It is the year of tortured Angola, of enslaved South Africa, of imprisoned Ruanda-Urundi, of humiliated Kenya.
We all know, and the whole world knows, that Algeria is not French, that Angola is not Portuguese, that Kenya is not English, that Ruanda-Urundi is not Belgian. We know that Africa is neither French, nor British, nor American, nor Russian—that it is African.
We know the objectives of the West. Yesterday they divided us on the level of a tribe, clan, and village. Today, with Africa liberating herself, they seek to divide us on the level of states. They want to create antagonistic blocs, satellites, and, having begun from that stage of the cold war, deepen the division in order to perpetuate their rule.
I think I shall not be making a mistake if I say that the united Africa of today rejects these intrigues. That is why we have chosen the policy of positive neutralism, which is the only acceptable policy allowing us to preserve our dignity.
For us, there is neither a Western nor a communist bloc, but separate countries whose attitude towards Africa dictates our policy towards them. Let each country declare its position and act unequivocally with regard to Africa.
We refuse to be an arena of international intrigues, a hotbed, and stake in the Cold War. We affirm our human dignity of free men, who are steadily taking the destiny of their nations and their continent into their own hands.
We are acutely in need of peace and concord, and our foreign policy is directed towards cooperation, loyalty, and friendship among nations. We want to be a force of peaceful progress, a force of conciliation. An independent and united Africa will make a large and positive contribution to world peace. But torn into zones of hostile influence, she will only intensify world antagonism and increase tension.
We are not undertaking any discriminating measures. But the Congo is discriminated against in her external relations. Yet in spite of that, she is open for all and we are prepared to go anywhere. Our only demand is that our sovereignty be recognized and respected.
We shall open our doors to specialists from all countries motivated by friendship, loyalty, and cooperation, from countries bent not on ruling Africans but on helping Africa. They will be welcomed with open arms.
I am sure that I shall be expressing the sentiments of all my African brothers when I say that Africa is not opposed to any nation taken separately, but that she is vigilant against any attempt at new domination and exploitation both in the economic and spiritual fields. Our goal is to revive Africa’s cultural, philosophical, social, and moral values, and to preserve our resources. But our vigilance does not signify isolation. From the beginning of her independence, the Congo has shown her desire to play her part in the life of free nations, and this desire was made concrete in her request for admission to the United Nations.
Ministers and dear comrades, I am happy to express the joy and pride of the government and people of the Congo at your presence here, at the presence here of the whole of Africa. The time of projects has passed. Today Africa must take action. This action is being impatiently awaited by the peoples of Africa. African unity and solidarity are no longer dreams. They must be expressed in decisions.
United by a single spirit, a single aspiration, and a single heart, we shall turn Africa into a genuinely free and independent continent in the immediate future.

Long live African unity and solidarity!

Forward, Africans, to complete liberation!

(August 25, 1960)

1. The 1958 All-African Peoples’ Conference in Accra, hosted by Kwame Nkrumah, was a landmark gathering of African and diaspora leaders committed to ending colonial rule. It united voices against imperialism and laid the groundwork for coordinated liberation struggles, asserting Africa’s right to self-determination and sovereignty.
2. Nyasaland was the name of a British protectorate in southeastern Africa. After its independence in 1964, it was renamed Malawi.
3. Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was a settler-colonial state where a white minority regime, backed by British imperialist interests, suppressed African majority rule through 1979.
4. First colonized by Germany, the territory of Ruanda-Urundi was transferred to Belgian control as a part of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, before becoming the two independent states of Rwanda and Burundi in 1962.
5. The name of the Congo’s capital during Belgian colonization, officially renamed Kinshasa in 1966 by the US-backed dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.—Ed., Material (as all following).
6. The Congo Crisis (1960–1965) followed Congo’s independence from Belgium, when nationalist leader Patrice Lumumba sought to assert real political and economic autonomy. Belgium and Western powers, particularly the US, backed secessionist movements in mineral-rich Katanga and supported a coup led by Joseph Mobutu, fearing Lumumba’s alignment with the pan-Africanist movement and the Eastern Bloc countries. Lumumba was captured and assassinated in 1961 with Belgian and CIA involvement, turning the crisis into a powerful example of Cold War imperialism sabotaging African self-determination.
7. Habib Bourguiba, the founding president of independent Tunisia, led the anti-colonial struggle against French rule through the Neo Destour party. Though initially celebrated for securing independence in 1956, his later accommodation with Western powers and repression of dissent drew criticism from more radical anti-imperialist circles, who saw his policies as prioritizing national stability over revolutionary transformation.
8. Mohammed V, Sultan and later King of Morocco, became a symbolic leader of anti-colonial resistance during French and Spanish rule. His 1953 exile imposed by the French sparked nationwide protests, strengthening nationalist movements like the Istiqlal Party. Restored to the throne in 1955, he negotiated Morocco’s independence, though left-wing critics argued his post-independence aligned with imperialist interests.
9. Sékou Touré was the leader of Guinea’s independence movement and its first president. He famously rejected French neocolonial policies by voting “No” in the 1958 referendum on continued association with France. This bold stance made Guinea the first French African colony to gain full independence, provoking severe retaliation from the French government.
10. President of Liberia between 1944 and 1971, William Tubman balanced pro-Western policies with support for African independence. His early involvement in the pan-Africanist movement was quickly overshadowed by his close ties to the US and foreign corporations.
11. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, played a pivotal role in the fight against British colonial rule, leading Ghana to become the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957.
12. As Togo’s first president between 1960–1963, Sylvanus Olympio sought to break Togo’s economic dependence on France, implementing policies that prioritized national control over resources and aimed at modernizing the country. His stance against French neo-colonial influence made him a target for French-backed forces, and in 1963, he was overthrown and assassinated.
13. Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt (1956–1970), was a central figure in the global anti-imperialist movement. He nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, defying British, French, and Israeli forces in a move that became a landmark act of resistance against colonial control. A founding leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, Nasser promoted Arab socialism, pan-Arab unity, and support for anti-colonial struggles across Africa and the Middle East.
14. Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (1930–1974), became a symbol of resistance during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1941), and fought against Mussolini’s forces. As a founding member of the Organization of African Unity, he advocated for African unity and independence. However, his later reign was marked by autocracy, economic inequality, and a failure to modernize the country. His reign came to an end as a result of the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution.
15. The Bizerte military base in Tunisia was controlled by France until 1963, symbolizing continued colonial domination, even after Tunisia’s independence in 1956.
16. Located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Kitona Air Base was also a key strategic site during the Cold War, used by both Belgian and later other Western military forces.
17. The Congolese city of Kamina hosted a significant military air base during the Congo Crisis, used by Belgian forces to support secessionist movements in the Katanga province.
18. The Sidi Slimane Air Base in Morocco, used by French forces during the colonial era, became a key site for military operations, even after Morocco’s independence in 1956, until its closure in the 1960s.
19. Katanga, a mineral-rich province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, became a focal point of imperialist intervention during the Congo Crisis. After Congo gained independence in 1960, Katanga’s secession, backed by Belgian interests and Western powers, was a direct attempt to maintain control over its vast natural resources.
20. Bakwanga, the capital of the former Kasaï-Oriental Province (or “East Kasai”), was a significant site of resistance during the Congo Crisis. The region, rich in resources, became a target for neocolonial exploitation.