Source: National Archives & Historic Records of Belgian Congo
Military • Historical Archive • 🇨🇩 Congo • 0 views

Gaston Soumialot 🇨🇩

Gaston Soumialot (Known as "Soumialot")
Supreme Revolutionary Commander of the Eastern Front, Minister of Defense
Born 1922-01-01 🇨🇩 Kindu, Maniema, Congo
Passed Away c. 2007 Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lifespan 85 years old
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"We took up arms not to shed blood, but to return the wealth of Congo's soil to the barefoot children of our villages."

Archival Overview

Fierce revolutionary strategist who commanded the Eastern Front during the 1964 Simba Rebellion, capturing Albertville and collaborating with Che Guevara during the guerrilla campaign in eastern Congo.

Biographical Record

Gaston Soumialot was born in 1922 in Maniema province. An ardent supporter of Patrice Lumumba, Soumialot organized armed resistance in eastern Congo following Lumumba's murder.

In 1964, Soumialot launched the Eastern Front of the Simba rebellion from Bujumbura, taking Uvira, Albertville (Kalemie), and Kindu. In 1965, he met with Ernesto 'Che' Guevara in Cairo and Dar es Salaam, coordinating Cuban support for Laurent-Désiré Kabila's guerrillas in Fizi-Baraka. He remained an elder statesman of the Lumumbist revolutionary tradition until his passing in Kinshasa.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Kinshasa Municipal Cemetery
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
GPS: -4.3250, 15.3220
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