Congo, Cold War & CIA plotting: the 1961 assassination that shook Africa
Stuart A Reid discusses Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba's assassination in 1961, and the devastating implications for the new nation
Soon after gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the new Republic of the Congo was rocked by the assassination of its young firebrand leader, Patrice Lumumba. Stuart A Reid unpicks this story in his Cundill History Prize-shortlisted book The Lumumba Plot. He speaks to Elinor Evans to unravel the tumult that followed independence and the devastating implications of Lumumba's death. Plus, Stuart reveals more about the CIA's murky role in the leader's brutal execution.
Stuart A Reid is the author of The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination (Knopf, 2023).
Find out more about the Cundill History Prize here
Authors
Elinor Evans is head of digital (web and video)