Maurice Mpolo

Maurice Mpolo (died 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and close political ally to Patrice Lumumba who briefly led the Congolese army. He was executed alongside Lumumba in Katanga in 1961.

Following the independence of the Republic of the Congo in 1960, Maurice Mpolo, at 32 years old and a member of the Mouvement National Congolais, was appointed to be Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba's minister of youth and sports, effectively becoming the government's chief propagandist. He briefly stood in for General Victor Lundula as commander in chief of the Armée Nationale Congolaise in July (earning the title of General) but got in a dispute with the army chief of staff, Colonel Joseph-Desiré Mobutu. On 14 September, Mobutu launched a coup which "neutralized" Lumumba's government and created a new one. Mpolo attempted to undermine it and rivaled Mobutu for control of the army. On 23 September, Mpolo and Deputy Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga were arrested and plans were made to send them to secessionist Katanga. The United Nations (UN) put pressure on Mobutu to release them, which he did the following day. On 7 October, Lumumba announced that he had formed a new cabinet that included Mpolo as minister of defence. Mpolo told the press that he believed all of the conflicted parties in the central government would eventually unite. Angered by this, Mobutu dispatched troops to Mpolo's house, but he was nowhere to be found. Later that day Mpolo was able to return to his home unmolested and requested that the UN strengthen its guard at his residence.

In late November Lumumba fled the capital to organize a new government in Stanleyville. He was captured before he could complete his escape and imprisoned at the army camp in Thysville. Mpolo also intended on reaching Stanleyville, but before he left he addressed a crowd of Lumumba's supporters at Lake Leopold. With Mobutu's government fearing Mpolo's potential to rally support for his cause, troops were dispatched to find him and arrested him in Mushie. He was later transferred to Thysville, along with Vice President of the Senate Joseph Okito. On 17 January 1961, discipline in the base faltered and all three men were flown to Élisabethville, Katanga. Once there, they were brutally tortured at the hands of Moïse Tshombe and Godefroid Munongo, Lumumba's chief political rivals and the leaders of the secessionist state. That night, one by one they were lined up against a tree to be executed via firing squad. Mpolo was the second to be shot.

On 17 January 2011, a mass of thanksgiving was held in memory of Mpolo and Okito at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Kinshasa.