US President Once Reportedly Ordered an African President to Be Killed, He Died Months After
- Uncovered evidence in US has pointed to President Dwight Eisenhower ordering the CIA to "eliminate" Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba during the Congo crisis
- The revelation came from a 1975 interview with Robert Johnson, who recalled Eisenhower’s words at a White House meeting in August 1960
- Lumumba, Congo’s first prime minister, was later killed on January 17, 1961, becoming a symbol of Africa’s independence struggle
In 2000, it was reported that evidence surfaced in US suggesting that the then President Dwight Eisenhower directly ordered the CIA to "eliminate" Congolese president Patrice Lumumba.
According to Guardian UK, the revelation came from a previously unpublished 1975 interview with Robert Johnson, who served as the minute-taker during an August 1960 White House meeting on the Congo crisis. There is also a pdf from the CIA here that corroborates the Guardian UK report.
Source: UGC
Johnson said he vividly remembered Eisenhower turning to CIA director Allen Dulles, "in the full hearing of all those in attendance, and saying something to the effect that Lumumba should be eliminated". He added: "There was stunned silence for about 15 seconds and the meeting continued."
Patrice Lumumba’s assassination in 1961
Lumumba, who became Congo’s first prime minister after independence from Belgium in June 1960, was removed from office as civil war spread across the country.
He was captured by rivals and killed on January 17, 1961. His death placed him as one of the most significant martyrs of Africa’s independence movements.
Source: Getty Images
Senate inquiry into US covert action
No official record of direct quotations was ever kept at national security council meetings. Johnson only disclosed the exchanges in 1975 when he was privately interviewed by staff of the Senate intelligence committee during its post-Watergate inquiry into US covert operations.
The committee concluded that the United States was not directly involved in Lumumba’s murder, though it confirmed that the CIA had conspired to kill him, possibly under Eisenhower’s orders.
Belgian role in Lumumba’s death
Recent Belgian parliamentary inquiries into the assassination implicated Belgium but failed to establish a direct link to US involvement, Guardian UK reported.
The transcript of Johnson’s interview only came to light because it was included in material sent to the US national archives in connection with the assassination of President John F Kennedy.
FG released list of 21 persons designated as terrorism financiers
Legit.ng earlier reported that in 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria released a list of 21 individuals and six Bureau de Change (BDC) entities designated as terrorism financiers.
The publication, made available through the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) website, followed years of pressure from security experts, civil society organisations, and citizens demanding transparency in the country’s fight against terrorism.
This flashback comes amid renewed global attention on Nigeria’s security challenges in 2025, with US President Donald Trump expressing concern over rising insecurity across the West African nation. Kaduna-based publisher Tukur Mamu led the list of individuals named in the 2024 report. He is currently facing trial for allegedly aiding terrorists involved in the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
Source: Legit.ng
