Patrice Lumumba Arrested In Belgian Congo

On this day in 1959, security forces arrested Patrice Lumumba, president of the Congolese National Movement (MNC), after two days of rioting which was reported to have resulted in the deaths of more than 70 people.

Military law was enforced in DR Congo’s Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville) with gatherings of more than five people banned. A curfew was also imposed between 6 pm and 5 am and all bars and places of entertainment were closed. Although an official communique gave the death toll as 20, sources said the figure was between 70 and 75 with more than 200 injured.

Two Europeans - neither of them Belgians - were arrested with Lumumba. Two companies of infantry, backed by an armoured column, succeeded in restoring order after 36 hours of rioting. Dozens of houses were raided and a social centre and several warehouses set on fire by rioters.

OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST ON THIS DAY

1896: First bare-breasted women (Zulu) to appear in National Geographic Magazine.
1942: 10th day of WWII battle at El Alamein, Egypt.
1954: The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence against France.
1965: Trackless trolley plunged into Nile River drowning 74 in Cairo, Egypt.
1987: New York City Marathon: Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya wins men's race, 2:11:01; English runner Priscilla Welch women's champion, 2:30:17.
1992: New York City Marathon: Willie Mtolo of South Africa wins men's race, 2:09:29; Australian Lisa Ondieki women's champion, 2:24:40.
1994: Muslim fundamentalists in Mostaganem Algeria murder 5 children.
2012: Yellow fever kills 32 people and sickens 50 more in Darfur, Sudan.
2015: New York City Marathon: Stanley Biwott of Kenya takes men's division in 2:10:34; compatriot and defending women's champion Mary Keitany wins easily in 2:24:25.