Congo says mausoleum holding independence hero Lumumba’s gold-capped tooth is vandalized

Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government says the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba has been vandalized. It is not immediately clear whether Lumumba’s remains which are a single gold-capped tooth were damaged or stolen. A mausoleum curator told the national press agency that the glass doors had been smashed Monday and the coffin containing the tooth had been broken. The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.