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Belgium returned a single tooth to the Congo this week. Here's why
Patrice Lumumba was the first democratically elected prime minister of the Congo, and was assassinated in a Belgian-supported coup. Can the return of his remains help them reconcile over colonialism?
by Ari Shapiro
Jun 21, 2022
3 minutes
This week, an unlikely artifact has been returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). And along with its return is the hope that there will be some closure for those subjected to a gruesome chapter of European colonialism.
The object? A tooth that had once belonged to Patrice Lumumba, and is now all that remains of The Democratic Republic of the Congo's first democratically-elected prime minister.
Lumumba was known as a charismatic leader whose reputation inspired hope for independence throughout
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