On 5 September 1960 President Joseph Kasa-Vubu of Congo-Léopoldville (modern Democratic Republic of the Congo) dismissed Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba from office, and six other members of his government: Deputy Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga, Minister of Justice Rémy Mwamba, Minister of Interior Christophe Gbenye, Minister of Information Anicet Kashamura, Secretary of State Antoine-Roger Bolamba, and Secretary of State Jacques Lumbala. This sparked a major constitutional crisis, and led to a coup organized by Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu.
Background
The 37-strong Lumumba Government was very diverse, with its members coming from different classes, different tribes, and holding varied political beliefs. Though many had questionable loyalty to Lumumba, most did not openly contradict him out of political considerations or fear of reprisal. He dominated the Council of Ministers, and most of the ministers did respect his abilities.
MNC-L members controlled eight ministries, including four major portfolios: national defence, interior, economic coordination, and agriculture. Tshombe objected to the fact that the former two were held by MNC-L members, while the majority of PUNA and MNC-K members were extremely displeased that their party leaders had not been included in the government. European circles were displeased that the portfolio for economic affairs, controlled by a CONAKAT ("Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga,", a party committed to securing the autonomy of Katanga Province) member, was undercut by the positioning of nationalists in control of the Ministry and Secretariat for Economic Coordination, and that mines and land affairs were placed under separate portfolios. CONAKAT leader Moïse Tshombe declared that it rendered his agreement to support the government "null and void".
Prelude
By the end of July opposition to the Lumumba Government had solidified in Parliament. Lumumba's absence from the country allowed these elements to organise and advertise their position. Belgian Ambassador Jean van den Bosch had taken advantage of the time to establish contacts with the moderate ministers: Bomboko, Delvaux, Kabangi, Kanza, and Mbuyi. Bomboko became the ambassador's most frequent contact and was relayed messages from Wigny. Van den Bosch also developed a relationship with Joseph Iléo, the President of the Senate, who pledged that he would work in tandem with other senators to remove Lumumba from power. On 9 August Albert Kalonji announced the secession of the "Mining State of South Kasai".
Dissension and subversion campaigns, including the dissemination of anti-Lumumba leaflets and inciting of army mutinies, were organised in Brazzaville with the support of President Fulbert Youlou, Belgian intelligence services, the French Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage, and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Congolese Secretary of State for the Interior Raphael Batshikama spent two hours every evening in Brazzaville hosting an anti-Lumumba radio programme. Wigny directed the Belgian agents there to encourage the Congolese opposition to remove Lumumba through presidential revocation, as a parliamentary motion of censure was deemed too likely to fail. In a meeting with his advisers on 18 August President Eisenhower suggested that he wanted Lumumba to be killed; the CIA subsequently organised an assassination operation. Belgium made similar plans. By the end of the month rumors were circulating in the capital of Western overtures to Kasa-Vubu to replace Lumumba's government.
Lumumba returned to Congo-Léopoldville on 8 August and soon thereafter met with the Council of Ministers.
The following day he proclaimed an état d'exception throughout Congo-Léopoldville, and his government carried out its expulsion order against Ambassador Van den Bosch. Mandi personally informed the ambassador of the direction, but insisted that his ousting did not signify a permanent rupture between Belgium and Congo-Léopoldville. Lumumba soon arrived to oversee Van den Bosch's departure and announced that all other Belgian diplomatic staff would face arrest if they did not leave the country. He also recalled all Congolese students residing in Belgium.
The Prime Minister subsequently issued several orders in an attempt to reassert his dominance on the political scene. The first outlawed the formation of associations without government sanction. A second asserted the government's right to ban publications that produced material likely to bring the administration into disrepute. On 11 August the Courrier d'Afrique printed an editorial which declared that the Congolese did not want to fall "under a second kind of slavery". The editor was summarily arrested and four days later publication of the daily ceased, followed shortly thereafter by the delivery of shut-down orders against the Belga and Agence France-Presse wire services. The press restrictions garnered a wave of harsh criticism from the Belgian media. Another order stipulated that official approval had to be obtained six days in advance of public gatherings. On 16 August Lumumba announced the installation of a régime militaire espécial for the duration of six months, including the establishment of military tribunals. He also initiated the arrest of public figures who opposed him.
Throughout August Lumumba increasingly withdrew from his full cabinet and instead consulted officials and ministers he trusted, such as Mpolo, Mbuyi, Kashamura, Gizenga, and Kiwewa. Kasa-Vubu's wishes frequently went unheeded by the government. Kasa-Vubu faced criticism from ABAKO and President Youlou for not curbing Lumumba's authoritarian actions. He resisted their pressure, and on 13 August he broadcast an appeal for unity and support for the government. Nevertheless, he cautioned the government against arbitrariness and excess:
If I am under a moral obligation to support and defend the government within the limits set by the law, the members of the government themselves have a duty to work together as a team. Their policy must be the policy of the government and not that of one party, one race, or one tribe. It must be a policy which reflects the interests of the nation and which allows humanitarian values to flourish in freedom. This imperative excludes all feelings of hatred, suspicion, and bad faith towards those who have collaborated loyally with us. It is also the duty of the government to respect the institutions which have been set up and to abide by the normal rules of democratic practice.
Dismissal of ministers
Kasa-Vubu's decision
Throughout August President Kasa-Vubu became increasingly bothered by Lumumba's growing authoritarianism, the collapse in administration, and the enlarging prospects of civil war. On 3 September he summoned Andrew Cordier, the interim head of ONUC, to communicate that he was considering dismissing the Prime Minister. Cordier reported the development back to Hammarskjöld, who noted that a "complete disintegration of authority" could follow such an action.
Kasa-Vubu's full motives behind his decision are not agreed upon. He told a parliamentary commission on 9 September that members of the government were becoming authoritarian and complained that he was not consulted in their actions. According to M. Crawford Young, he feared a pro-Lumumba coup d'état would take place and sought to preempt it. Young further stated that there is evidence to suggest that Lumumba was growing impatient with the parliamentary system and was seeking to institute his own centralised presidency to achieve his agenda, but did not begin to formulate such plans until he grew suspicious of his opponents' own intentions to depose him. Political scientist Catherine Hoskyns wrote that Kasa-Vubu was becoming increasingly agitated by Lumumba's style of governance and, facing pressure from ABAKO, Adoula, and Iléo, sought to curtail what he perceived as the Prime Minister's harmful actions. Hoskyns further posited that by dismissing Lumumba, Kasa-Vubu only wished to exercise a measure of control over him and that he was prepared to then negotiate a political compromise with Lumumba that would potentially lead to his inclusion in the next government. According to Stephen Weissman, classified CIA documents indicated that Kasa-Vubu was bribed by the American government into firing Lumumba, as part of a larger plot that would involve a no-confidence vote in Parliament on 8 September rigged by Adoula and Iléo followed by the resignations of all ABAKO and PUNA ministers and public protests. He also wrote, "It appears unlikely that Kasa-Vubu would have gone ahead [with the dismissal] without outside support."
Revocation of Lumumba's ministerial mandate
At 20:12 on 5 September Kasa-Vubu announced the dismissal of Lumumba, along with Deputy Prime Minister Gizenga, Minister of Justice Mwamba, Minister of Interior Gbenye, Minister of Information Kashamura, Secretary of State Bolamba, and Secretary of State Lumbala over the radio. He stated that the President of the Senate, Joseph Iléo, would form a new government. After Lumumba heard of the firing he held heated discussions with his ministers and made three broadcasts, defending his government and declaring Kasa-Vubu to be deposed. Kasa-Vubu had not declared the approval of any responsible ministers of his decision, making his action legally invalid. Lumumba noted this in a letter to Hammarskjöld and a radio broadcast at 05:30 on 6 September. Later that day Kasa-Vubu managed to secure the countersignatures of Delvaux and Bomboko to his order. With them, he re-announced his decision at 16:00 over Brazzaville radio. The former's signature was unsurprising to most observers, but the latter's was unanticipated. Through his actions at the UN Security Council meeting he had attended and the Pan-African conference, Bomboko had appeared to concur with Lumumba's programme. Bomboko explained to the press in late September that he felt Lumumba had failed to cooperate with the UN and "tolerated" the ANC's harassment of ONUC personnel, "thus disqualifying our young nation in the eyes of the world". He also claimed that Lumumba did not stem the mistreatment of foreigners and bypassed him in seeking bilateral aid outside of the UN effort.
While the dismissals were recognised, the reigning government was, according to Belgian tradition, legally in place until a full administration was formed that could replace it—though Lumumba's opponents disputed such a view. Kasa-Vubu theorised that Iléo could work with the ministers that had not been revoked until he had a government ready for a parliamentary vote. As Iléo was no longer serving as President of the Senate, Lumumba hoped his ally, Okito, would assume the position, which would then place him next in the line of succession to the presidency in case of Kasa-Vubu's removal from office. On the evening of 6 September Kasa-Vubu summoned prosecutor Rene Rom and pressured him to draft a warrant for Lumumba's arrest. Cordier and ONUC Commander Carl von Horn ordered peacekeepers to shut down the airport and restrict access to the radio station, fearing Lumumba would fly in loyal troops from Stanleyville to regain control of the capital and provoke a civil war. Despite the confusion, Lumumba was still able to exercise his powers and resumed the military campaign against South Kasai and Katanga.