Thomas Kanza
Thomas Rudolphe Kanza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Republic of the Congo Minister-Delegate to the United Nations | |
| In office 24 June 1960 – 22 November 1960 | |
| President | Joseph Kasa-Vubu |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Justin Bomboko |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 October 1933 Léopoldville, Belgian Congo |
| Died | 25 October 2004 (aged 71) London, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Union Sacrée de l'Opposition (?–1993) |
| Alma mater | Université catholique de Louvain Harvard University |
Thomas Rudolphe Kanza or Nsenga Kanza (10 October 1933 – 25 October 2004) was a
Early life
Thomas Kanza was born on 10 October 1933 in
On 30 March 1957, Kanza and two of his brothers founded the weekly publication La Congo in Léopoldville, the first newspaper to be owned and managed by Congolese.[9]
When plans for a
Political career
Lumumba's party won a plurality of parliamentary seats in the Congo's first free elections.
Meanwhile, Lumumba's absence had created a dilemma surrounding the authority of his delegation at the United Nations, which was led by Kanza. On 8 November 1960, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu proposed his own delegation, leading to a dispute in the General Assembly. On 22 November 1960, the Assembly voted to recognize Kasa-Vubu's delegation, thereby subverting Kanza.[17] He then served as the representative for Antoine Gizenga's brief rival government based in Stanleyville.[18]
In 1962, Kanza, having rejoined the central government, was transferred to be chargé d'affaires of the United Kingdom embassy. In 1964, he was recalled to the Congo. He soon entered a dispute with the new prime minister, Moïse Tshombe, and joined Pierre Mulele's rebel group. Following its defeat and Mobutu's definitive seizure of power in 1965, Kanza fled to Europe. He shortly thereafter moved to the United States and in the same year published a largely autobiographical novel, Sans rancune.[19] In 1972, he published a memoir, entitled, The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo.[20] The book covered his own personal experiences as the Conge became independent and focused on his interactions with Lumumba.[21] He later became a professor of politics at the University of Massachusetts Boston.[22]
"Thomas Kanza was one of the best voices to express the continuation of adhering to an inviolate Pan-Africanist commitment and principles to struggle to develop this potential for the broad masses of indigenous people...His life can also be instructive as a benchmark to measure what we are expected to live up to."
Elombe Brath's reflection on Kanza, 2004[23]
Kanza returned to the Congo following the declaration of a general amnesty by Mobutu on 21 May 1983.
Kanza died of a heart attack in London on 25 October 2004, aged 71, while serving as the Congo's ambassador to Sweden.[27]
See also
- Sophie Kanza, sister, first woman Congolese university graduate
- Marcel Lihau, brother-in-law, first Congolese law student
- Paul Panda Farnana, first Congolese to receive higher education
Citations
- ^ "In memoriam: L'ambassadeur Thomas Kanza inhumé vendredi ŕ Oxford !". Digital Congo (in French). 5 November 2004. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Stewart 2003, Chapter 6: Celebrations and sorrows.
- ^ Buettner 2016, p. 177.
- ^ a b c Legum 1961, p. 105.
- ^ Kanza 1978, p. 81.
- ^ Henry 2005, p. 190.
- ^ Kantowicz 2000, p. 270.
- ^ LaFontaine 1986, p. 155.
- ^ "Hommage au patriote Thomas Kanza". Digital Congo (in French). 12 November 2004. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Stewart 2003, p. 83.
- ^ Gérard 1986, p. 544.
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Kanza 1994, pp. 98–99.
- ^ a b Hoskyns 1965, p. 78.
- ^ a b c Kisangani 2016, p. 333.
- ^ Ostermann 2007, p. 539.
- ^ Cordier & Foote 2013, p. 221.
- ^ "Gizenga Delegate Here". The Harvard Crimson. 16 February 1961.
- ^ Gérard 1986, p. 543.
- ^ Kantowicz 2000, p. 468.
- ^ "The Kanza Version". West Africa. 31 December 1972.
- ^ "Professor of Politics Thomas Kanza lecturing in class on the Columbia Point campus". Open Archives at UMass Boston. University of Massachusetts Boston. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ProQuest 367957682.
- ^ Kisangani 2016, p. 68.
- ^ a b Lemarchand 2009, p. 194.
- ^ Banks, Day & Muller 2016, p. 216.
- ^ Kisangani 2016, p. 334.
References
- Banks, Aurthur S.; Day, Alan J.; Muller, Thomas C. (2016). Political Handbook of the World 1998 (illustrated ed.). Springer. ISBN 9781349149513.
- Buettner, Elizabeth (2016). Europe after Empire: Decolonization, Society, and Culture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316594704.
- Cordier, Andrew W.; Foote, Wilder (2013). Public Papers of the Secretaries General of the United Nations. Vol. 5. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231513791.
- LaFontaine, J.S. (1986). City Politics: A Study of Léopoldville 1962–63. American Studies. Cambridge University Press Archive.
- Gérard, Albert S., ed. (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vol. 1. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9789630538329.
- Henry, Charles P. (2005). Ralph Bunche: Model Negro Or American Other? (illustrated, reprint ed.). NYU Press. ISBN 9780814735831.
- Hoskyns, Catherine (1965). The Congo Since Independence: January 1960 – December 1961. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 414961.
- Kantowicz, Edward R. (2000). Coming Apart, Coming Together. The World in the 20th Century (illustrated ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802844569.
- Kanza, Thomas R. (1978). The rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba: conflict in the Congo (illustrated ed.). R. Collings. ISBN 9780860360681.
- Kanza, Thomas R. (1994). The Rise and Fall of Patrice Lumumba: Conflict in the Congo (expanded ed.). Rochester, Vermont: Schenkman Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-87073-901-9.
- Kisangani, Emizet Francois (2016). Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442273160.
- Legum, Colin (1961). Congo Disaster. Penguin.
- Lemarchand, René (2009). The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa (illustrated ed.). University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812241204.
- Ostermann, Christian F., ed. (2007). Bulletin: Inside China's Cold War. Cold War Bulletin. Vol. 16. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
- Stewart, Gary (2003). Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos (illustrated ed.). Verso Books. ISBN 9781859843680.
External links
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
