This tribute to Patrice Lumumba was completed in the wake of the decision by the Belgian government to return Lumumba’s tooth, pilfered by Belgian soldiers after his assassination, to the Congolese. The artist’s personal affiliation with Lumumba goes back decades - as a child, Simba won the same Writing and Speaking competition in Kinshasa that Lumumba had won decades prior; the experience launched the careers of both inspirational young men, and forever linked the two as some of the most important faces for the future of the Congo. Lumumba’s image remains one of Simba’s most enduring artistic inspirations.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61838781

Lumumba is the center of the most important period in African history. The central figure from the central location in the continent, he is where all conversations on the matter of Africa should begin. A sacred piece of Congolese history, this piece is a celebration in the face of tragedy.

Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961), born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa, was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960, following the May 1960 election. He was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his execution in January 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Shortly after Congolese independence in June 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army, marking the beginning of the Congo Crisis. Lumumba appealed to the United States and the United Nations for help to suppress the Belgian-supported Katangan secessionists led by Moïse Tshombe. Both refused, as the Belgian government had convinced them that Lumumba was communist, anti-white, and anti-Western. These suspicions deepened when Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union for assistance, which the CIA described as a "classic communist takeover". This led to growing differences with President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and chief-of-staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, as well as with the United States and Belgium, who opposed the Soviet Union in the Cold War.

After Mobutu's military coup, Lumumba attempted to escape to Stanleyville to join his supporters who had established a new anti-Mobutu rival state called the Free Republic of the Congo. Lumumba was captured and imprisoned en route by state authorities under Mobutu. He was handed over to Katangan authorities, and executed in the presence of Katangan and Belgian officials and military officers. His body was thrown into a shallow grave, but later dug up and destroyed. Following his execution, he was widely seen as a martyr for the wider pan-African movement. Over the years, inquiries have shed light on the events surrounding Lumumba's death and, in particular, on the roles played by Belgium and the United States. In 2002, Belgium formally apologised for its role in the execution. In 2022, a gold-capped tooth, all that remained of his body, was repatriated to the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Belgium.