Putin pays tribute to Patrice Lumumba in front of Tshisekedi
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Nouvelle Tribune
Vladimir Putin paid tribute to Patrice Lumumba in front of Democratic Republic of the Congo President Félix Tshisekedi in Moscow on 30 October 2026. The Russian president described the former Congolese prime minister as a fighter for freedom and independence, according to La Nouvelle Tribune, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in front of his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi on Friday 30 October 2026 in Moscow. “We hold the name of your country’s first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, in the highest esteem, a true fighter for the freedom and independence of African peoples,” Vladimir Putin said on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa summit, according to La Nouvelle Tribune.
Patrice Lumumba led the DRC’s first government after the country’s independence from Belgium, proclaimed on 30 June 1960. Removed from power in September of the same year, he was assassinated in January 1961 and has since remained a symbol of the anti-colonial struggle in Africa.
The tribute came after Vladimir Putin mentioned Thomas Sankara at the Russia-Africa summit on 29 October to denounce the weight of debt in African countries. The episode was part of the Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, where the Russian president presents his country as a strategic partner for the continent.
