Joseph Okito (5 February 1910 – 17 January 1961) was a
Congolese politician and close political ally to
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
who briefly served as Second Vice-President of the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(then
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
). He was executed alongside Lumumba in
Katanga in 1961.
Biography
Joseph Okito was born on 5 February 1910 in the village of Koyapongo,
Lusambo Territory,
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
. He worked for the colonial administration for many years, serving as the chief of the Batetela sector of the Lusambo Territory. He was cited by the ''
évolués'' of
Luluabourg in a March 1944 memorandum as an example of a dedicated civil servant. He was later admitted into the Union des Interets Sociaux Congolais, an elite cultural society for ''évolués''. Okito enjoyed an elevated social status due to his entrepreneurship and significant ownership of property. He was co-opted into the Kasai Provincial Council in 1957, serving until 1959. During the same time he regularly contributed to the monthly ''Communauté de Luluabourg'' in Otetela, Tshiluba, and French. The colonial administration selected him as one of two Congolese to be trained to take over the role of commissioner of the
Sankuru
Sankuru is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. Sa ...
district. Okito thought the training would assist him in a future political career. He was sent to Lusambo to shadow the district commissioner and was educated on the principles of administration for one hour each day. In 1959 he founded and became president of the Union rurale du Congo. The union later merged into the moderate
Parti National du Progrès, but Okito was convinced by
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
to join the nationalist the
Mouvement National Congolais
The Congolese National Movement (french: Mouvement national Congolais, or MNC) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
History Foundation
The MNC was founded in 1958 as an African nationalist party within the Belgian Cong ...
(MNC). The following year he became president of the Sankuru chapter of the party.
In March 1960 Okito participated in the Akutshu-Anamongo Congress of
Lodja
Lodja is a remote town in the Sankuru (formerly Kasaï-Oriental) province in central Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is serviced by the Lodja Airport which is about from town. Lodja is a hub for both rice production in the province and dia ...
, serving as one of the conference's vice presidents. Later he was made a
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from
Kasai Province
Kasai or Kasaï may refer to:
Places
Congo
* Congo-Kasaï, one of the four large provinces of Belgian Congo
* Kasaï District, in the Kasai-Occidental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Kasai Province, one of the provinces ...
of the independent
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
. He competed for the position of First Vice-President of the Senate, but lost against
BALUBAKAT politician
Jacques Masangu
Jacques Masangu-a-Mwanza (born 20 November 1928) is a Congolese and Katangese politician and diplomat.
Early career
Jacques Masangu, originating from Katanga, attended the Solvay Institute of the Université Libre de Bruxelles where he gr ...
. On 22 June 1960 he was elected Second Vice-President of the Senate. In early September Prime Minister Lumumba was fired by President
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965.
A member of the Kong ...
. Lumumba challenged the action and a political impasse ensued. On 14 September
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the List of heads of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, presiden ...
launched a coup that removed Lumumba from power and adjourned Parliament.
In late November Lumumba fled political hostility in the capital to organise
a new government in
Stanleyville. He was captured before he could complete his escape and imprisoned at the army camp in
Thysville
Mbanza-Ngungu, formerly known as Thysville or Thysstad, named after Albert Thys, is a city and territory in Kongo Central Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on a short branch off the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway. ...
. Okito was preemptively arrested near
Kikwit
Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, lying on the Kwilu River in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kikwit is also known in the region under the nickname "The Mother". The population is approximately 458,000 ( ...
and was later transferred to the camp, along with Minister of Youth and Sports
Maurice Mpolo
Maurice Mpolo (12 September 1928 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician who served as Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of the Congo in 1960. He briefly led the Congolese army that July. He was executed alongside Prime Minister ...
. On 17 January 1961, discipline in the base faltered and all three men were flown to
Élisabethville
Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
, capital of the secessionist
State of Katanga
The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...
. Once there, they were brutally tortured at the hands of
Moïse Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe (sometimes written Tshombé) (10 November 1919 – 29 June 1969) was a Congolese businessman and politician. He served as the president of the secessionist State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and as prime minister of the D ...
and
Godefroid Munongo
Godefroid Munongo Mwenda M'Siri (1925–1992) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician. He was a minister and briefly interim president, in 1961. It has been claimed he was involved in ethnic cleansing and in the assassination ...
, Lumumba's chief political rivals and the leaders of the secessionist state. That night, one by one they were lined up against a tree to be executed via firing squad. Okito was the first to be shot. As he was led to the tree, he said, "I want my wife and children in Léopoldville to be taken care of," to which someone replied, "We're in Katanga, not in Léo!" Following the execution his body was immediately placed in a nearby grave.
On 17 January 2011, a
mass of thanksgiving was held in memory of Mpolo and Okito at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in
Kinshasa
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
.
Notes
Citations
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okito, Joseph
1910 births
People from Sankuru
1961 deaths
Mouvement National Congolais politicians
Members of the Senate (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
People murdered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Assassinated Democratic Republic of the Congo politicians
Deaths by firearm in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo torture victims
Executed Democratic Republic of the Congo people
People of the Congo Crisis
Évolués
1961 murders in Africa