Congo to create city of Lumumbaville in honour of liberation symbol Patrice Lumumba
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By The Associated Press May 14, 2013 KINSHASA, Congo - The Congolese government is naming a town after Patrice Lumumba, the country's first prime minister whose assassination more than 50 years ago made him a liberation symbol worldwide. The new city in central Congo, named Lumumbaville, will be made of several existing communities in the Kassai-Oriental province and will be more than 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) from the capital. Government spokesman Lambert Mende said Tuesday that Lumumbaville will "honour the memory of a great Congolese statesman." Lumumba was elected prime minister when Belgium granted independence to Congo in 1960 after almost a century of colonial rule. The responsibility for Lumumba's 1961 death remains a mystery. Lumumba's son, Laurent, welcomed the creation of a town in his father's honour but called on the government to conclusively determine who assassinated him. |