linguistic:translation
Martyrdom

ne thing is clear: while he lived he was essentially a factional hero rather than a national one. But after his death the myth of Lumumba was rapidly nationalized.

Political scientist Ali Mazrui, 1968

The circumstances of Lumumba's death have led him to often be portrayed as a martyr. While his demise led to an outburst of mass demonstrations abroad and quick creation of a martyr image internationally, the immediate reaction to his death in the Congo was not as uniform. Tetela, Songye, and Luba-Katanga peoples created folks songs of mourning for him, but these were groups which had been involved in political alliances with him and, at the time, Lumumba was unpopular in large segments of the Congolese populace, particularly in the capital, Bas-Congo, Katanga, and South Kasai. Some of his actions and the portrayal of him as a communist by his detractors had also generated disaffection in the army, civil service, labour unions, and the Catholic Church. Lumumba's reputation as a martyr in the collective memory of the Congolese was only cemented later, partly due to the initiatives of Mobutu.

In Congolese collective memory, it is perceived that Lumumba was killed through Western machinations because he defended the Congo's self-determination. The killing is viewed in the context of the memory as a symbolic moment in which the Congo lost its dignity in the international realm and the ability to determine its future, which has since been controlled by the West. Lumumba's determination to pursue his goals is extrapolated upon the Congolese people as their own; securing the Congo's dignity and self-determination would thus ensure their "redemption" from victimisation by Western powers. Historian David Van Reybrouck wrote, "In no time Lumumba became a martyr of decolonisation... He owed this status more to the horrible end of his life than to his political successes." Journalist Michela Wrong remarked that "He really did become a hero after his death, in a way that one has to wonder if he would have been such a hero if he had remained and run the country and faced all the problems that running a country as big as Congo would have inevitably brought." Drama scholar Peit Defraeya wrote, "Lumumba as a dead martyr has become a more compelling figure in liberationist discourse than the controversial live politician." Historian Pedro Monaville wrote that "his globally iconic status was not commensurate with his more complex legacy in Congo." Cooptation of Lumumba's legacy by Congolese presidents and state media has generated doubts in the Congolese public about his reputation.