The gold-capped tooth of Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s independence hero, is safe and has not been stolen, his daughter has told the BBC.
The news comes as a relief to a nation gripped by fear that the only remains of the country’s revered first prime minister had been swiped after his mausoleum in the capital, Kinshasa, was vandalised on Monday night.
But Juliana Lumumba said previous concerns about the security of the site had prompted the family to move the tooth to a more secure location.
The tooth was only returned to the Lumumba family by former colonial power Belgium two years ago – and had been placed in the special memorial building.
Lumumba was much loved not just by many at home but across Africa for his outspoken criticism of colonialism – and he became an icon of pan-Africanism.
He was seen as a symbol of change and hope after the harrowing years under Belgian rule, during which millions of Congolese people died or were brutalised.
But within months of the country’s independence from Belgium in 1960 he was toppled as prime minister.
At the age of 35 he was shot by a firing squad in January 1961, with the tacit backing of Belgium.
His body was then dissolved in acid, but Belgian police officer Gerard Soete, who oversaw the destruction, took the tooth as a macabre memento.
The return of Lumumba’s gold tooth in June 2022 was a cause for celebration in DR Congo – and it was taken on a tour of the vast country so people could pay their respects.
The vandalism of the mausoleum has caused outrage – and when Culture Minister Yolande Elebe Mandembo announced on Tuesday that an investigation had been launched, many feared the worst.
Footage circulated showing that a glass door had been smashed to get access to the chamber where a coffin could be seen.
But Ms Lumumba sought to reassure people on Wednesday – saying her father’s tooth had not been there at the time of the break-in.
Nonetheless she told the BBC she felt “anger and sadness” that her father’s grave had been disrespected.
Now 69, she spent years lobbying Belgium for the return of the tooth.
“Patrice Lumumba sacrificed himself for the sovereignty and independence of his country and the Congolese,” she said.
“This is so unrepresentative of our culture, which respects the graves of our dearly departed.”
Local authorities say four suspects have been arrested over the desecration, but their identities have not been made public.
Ms Lumumba said the Lumumba Foundation wanted to take over management of the mausoleum because of security worries and had been lobbying the government to do so.