On 5 July 1960, soldiers of the garrisons of Léopoldville and Thysville of the Force Publique, the army of the newly independent Republic of the Congo mutinied against their white officers. The revolt quickly spread throughout the Bas-Congo and engulfed the country in disorder, beginning the Congo Crisis.
Background
The Force Publique was long characterised by repressive police actions and entrenched racial segregation. With the exception of 10 adjutants appointed shortly before independence, no Congolese soldier was able to advance past the rank of sergeant. Many hoped that independence would result in immediate promotions and material gains, but were disappointed by Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba's slow pace of reform. The rank-and-file felt that the Congolese political class—particularly ministers in the new government—were enriching themselves while failing to improve the troops' situation. There was dissatisfaction that Lumumba had appointed an unpopular colonel, van Hoorebeke, to a high post in the Ministry of Defence, and the troops from Équateur and southern Kasai were additionally upset that Jean Bolikango and Albert Kalonji were not included in the new government. Many of the soldiers were also fatigued from maintaining order during the elections and participating in independence celebrations.
On 27 June the Lumumba Government established a committee to draft a Treaty of Friendship, Assistance, and Co-operation to be signed with Belgium. It stipulated that the Belgian civil servants in the Congo and the Belgian officers of the Force Publique would remain at their posts and receive compensation from the Belgian government. It also allowed for Belgian metropolitan troops to continue to garrison the bases of Kitona and Kamina until another agreement could arrange the installations' handover to the Congolese government. The text of the treaty was hurriedly finished and on 29 June the agreement was signed by Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens, Belgian Foreign Minister Pierre Wigny, Lumumba, and Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Bomboko.
Independence Day, 30 June 1960, was a Thursday. It was followed by a long weekend of festivities that occurred in relative calm across the country. In Léopoldville, the capital, sporadic fighting took place between factions that were dissatisfied by the result of presidential election. On the morning of 4 July workers in Coquilhatville, the capital of Équateur Province, began striking. The Force Publique was called into service and opened fire on the crowds, killing nine. The strikebreaking action was the last official undertaking of the Force before the mutiny began. That same day the Congolese cabinet convened to discuss reforming the national institutions. They resolved to establish a committee to examine reorganisation of the army, paying special attention to eliminating racial discrimination.
Meanwhile, at Camp Léopold II, the chief military installation in Léopoldville, officers observed a high level of excitement among the Congolese ranks. One non-commissioned officer began telling his fellow soldiers that since the Congo was independent they were not required to adhere to the Belgians' orders. At 17:00 General Émile Janssens, commander-in-chief of the Force Publique, arrived and personally demoted him. Three undisciplined soldiers were placed in a holding cell, though two were provisionally released to Secretary of State for National Defence Albert Nyembo, who was informed of the incident. In the evening Janssens heard on a radio broadcast of the government's intent to set up a committee to reorganise the army. He was outraged that he had not been consulted.
The mutiny
On the morning of 5 July General Janssens, in response to increasing unrest among the Congolese ranks, summoned all troops on duty at Camp Léopold II. He demanded that the army maintain its discipline and wrote "before independence = after independence" on a black board to emphasise that the situation would not change. That evening the Congolese sacked the canteen in protest at Janssens. He alerted the reserve garrison of Camp Hardy, 95 miles away in Thysville. The officers tried organising a convoy to send to Camp Léopold II to restore order, but the men mutinied and seized the armoury. The "Congo Crisis" which followed would come to dominate the tenure of the Lumumba Government.
