On January 17, 1961, Congo¡¯s first prime minister, Lumumba, was killed.

On January 17th, 1961, Lumumba, the first prime minister and national hero of Congo (Liberia), was killed by the Chongbo group in Katanga (now Sabah district). In 1959, Lumumba took part in leading the national independence struggle of the Congolese people against Belgian colonial rule. After Congo gained independence in 1960, he served as the first Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. After Lumumba was killed, the Third All-African People's Congress convened in March 1961 declared him an African hero.