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‘MY TRAINING IS DEEPLY CHRISTIAN AND I AM AGAINST VIOLENCE’: JASON SENDWE, THE BALUBAKAT, AND THE KATANGESE SECESSION, 1957–64
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 August 2020
Abstract
This article examines the Baluba Association of Katanga (Balubakat) from its creation in 1957 until its dissolution in 1964, as well as its leader Jason Sendwe. Despite not receiving much scholarly coverage hitherto, Sendwe and the Balubakat played an important part in undermining the Katangese secession, along with the UN and the Congolese National Army (ANC). This article's focus on the Balubakat and Sendwe challenges the traditional historical focus on top parties, such as the National Congolese Movement (MNC), and their leaders, such as Patrice Lumumba, when examining Congolese decolonisation. Sendwe's pragmatic, non-aligned stance helped the Balubakat maintain the support of powerful institutions, such as the Great Lakes Railway Company (CFL). His ability to hold the Balubakat together also derived from its members’ common wish to oppose the Katangese secession. Yet the efficacy of Sendwe's leadership was best demonstrated after the party disbanded following his assassination.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press
Footnotes
I would like to thank Yolanda Covington-Ward, Guy Vanthemsche, Hein Vanhee, Tom Morren, David Maxwell, Robert Saunders, all who attended my paper at the Congo Research Network (CRN) conference in Cambridge in 2015, and the anonymous reviewers and editors of this journal for their comments, inspiration, and help in preparing this article. I would also like to thank the British Academy for their Small Grant (SG132242) that furthered the research for this article. All mistakes and views expressed in this paper remain mine, though. E-mail: r.loffman@qmul.ac.uk.
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