Lumumba

The film opens with Lumumba, Joseph Okito, and Maurice Mpolo being driven to their executions, showing the brutal end engineered by Mobutu. The scene then shifts to their bodies later being exhumed, dismembered, and burned. This brutal sequence sets a grim frame for the political upheaval to follow.

Lumumba engages in sharp debates with rival CONAKAT leaders, espousing Pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist ideals. His rhetoric provokes anger in Tshombe and Munongo, signaling coming clashes over Congo's path to independence. The exchanges lay the ideological groundwork for the power struggles to come.

Lumumba takes a job as a beer salesman in Leopoldville, using public gatherings and sales events to promote his political ideas. The work brings him into contact with ordinary people and widens his political base. This unlikely occupation is the springboard for his rise on the national stage.

During a street meeting, Force Publique soldiers arrest Lumumba and Belgian guards brutalize him. He is freed soon after and sent to Brussels to negotiate Congo's independence. The incident highlights the tensions between the Congo's aspirations and colonial forces.

In Brussels, Lumumba meets Joseph Kasavubu, who seeks a practical approach to independence. Kasavubu endorses Lumumba and appoints him as prime minister, setting the stage for a united front against colonial powers. The partnership marks a pivotal shift in the independence movement.

On the night of the coalition's formation, Tshombe and Munongo threaten Lumumba for not granting them leadership roles. Their intimidation foreshadows the ethnic and regional conflicts that will grip the country. Lumumba remains defiant as the government takes shape.

With Belgium formally recognizing Congo's independence, Lumumba delivers a defiant speech highlighting the oppression under colonial rule. Kasavubu offers a more measured address, signaling divergent approaches within the new leadership. The moment crystallizes the clash of visions for Congo's future.

Back in Leopoldville, the cabinet debates removing Émile Janssens, who resists African officers. The Belgian ambassador warns of UN/NATO involvement to steady the situation, provoking Lumumba to dismiss Janssens and push back against Belgian interference. The episode deepens the rift between Congo's leadership and colonial powers.

Munongo blocks the government's plane from landing in Katanga, signaling the region's secession into the State of Katanga. Lumumba vows to confront the secessionist movement as the crisis escalates. The episode marks a turning point in the Congo Crisis.

Evidence surfaces that Mobutu's forces have massacred civilians during clashes with Katangan rebels. Lumumba dismisses Mobutu, irritated at the atrocities and the complicity with external powers. He leans away from U.S. support, seeking alternative alliances.

Kasavubu publicly dismisses Lumumba, citing alleged communist sympathies and concerns over regional massacres. Lumumba is placed under house arrest, triggering a political deadlock as supporters mobilize. He learns that his infant daughter must be sent to Switzerland for treatment, adding a personal tragedy to the crisis.

Mobutu announces that the army has seized power and claims to have arrested Lumumba and Kasavubu. Lumumba plots an escape to Stanleyville, hoping to regroup with loyalists, but his plans are thwarted when soldiers arrest him. The turn of events signals the collapse of the fragile post-independence government.

Lumumba, along with Mpolo and Okito, is brutally captured and beaten; Munongo joins in during their brutal treatment. The trio are transported to Katanga where Lumumba is killed. The sequence is intercut with Mobutu's later memories of Lumumba.

The film concludes by juxtaposing Mobutu's public memories of Lumumba with shots of the executions in the dark woods. The memory underscores the political violence that underscored the Congo's struggle for independence and its aftermath.