What a profound loss for Africa and Africans everywhere!
With deep sorrow, I join host of other Pan Africans to mourn the transition of Roland-Gilbert Okito Lumumba, youngest son of the immortal Patrice Émery Lumumba, who passed on Saturday the 31st day of January, 2026 in Kinshasa at the age of 67.
Roland Lumumba stood as a steadfast custodian of his father’s revolutionary legacy. He devoted his life to the pursuit of historical truth and justice, playing a leading role in sustained legal and moral efforts to fully uncover the circumstances surrounding the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba (Afrika’s martyr of sovereignty, dignity, and self-determination). His commitment was most visibly affirmed in June 2022, when he was central to the long-overdue repatriation of his father’s remains from Belgium to the Democratic Republic of Congo, an act heavy with symbolism for Afrika’s unfinished decolonial struggle.
Throughout his life, Roland Lumumba laboured tirelessly to safeguard, transmit and contextualize the ideological heritage of Patrice Lumumba, ensuring that the principles of justice, national unity and true sovereignty continued to speak to the conscience of the Congolese people and the wider Pan-African world. He understood that memory is resistance and that legacy is a political duty.
We honour Roland Lumumba not only as a son, but as a comrade in the long struggle for historical accountability and African self-assertion. May his transition further strengthen the resolve of all Afrikans to demand justice, truth and reparations, until those responsible for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba are fully held to account.
Rest in Revolutionary Power beloved Roland-Gilbert Okito Lumumba!
Son of the soil, guardian of memory and torchbearer of Afrika’s unfinished liberation.
Your Son, Subject and fellow in the struggle for Africa’s full freedom
-Umudjere Africaman