This book was born of a deep-seated conviction that history is not a dusty museum, but a mirror held up to the present. It is the fruit of a silent anger, fed by the spectacle of a Congo which, sixty years after its independence, still seems to be searching for its identity and unity. My journey through the arcana of law, political science and political activism has led me to an inescapable conclusion: to understand today's ills, we need to look at the foundations, those laid by a man, a prophet, a martyr: Patrice