Patrice Lumumba rose from a village postman to become Congo’s first Prime Minister; a symbol of African pride and unity in a world still ruled by empire. But within months of independence, his dream collapsed under mutiny, foreign interference, and Cold War politics.

This episode traces Lumumba’s journey from hope to heartbreak: the chaos after Congo’s independence, the secret CIA and Belgian plots revealed decades later, and the night he was executed at just 35 years old.

More than six decades later, Lumumba’s name still echoes across Africa, as a reminder that freedom without dignity is no freedom at all.

Next week: Thomas Sankara — The Upright Man.