Laissez-Passer of the People's Republic of the Congo, Stanleyville (1964)
The opened travel pass of a rebel administration carries the printed title 'Laissez-Passer', a star-and-shield emblem, and on the facing page a portrait of Patrice Lumumba captioned 'M. N. C.-Lumumba'. The practical document doubles as a carrier for the murdered leader's face and party initials, lending his legitimacy to the new authority that issues it.
- Date
- 1964
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- People's Republic of the Congo (Stanleyville), Comité National de Libération / Lumumbist rebel administration
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Country
- Peoples Republic of the Congo
- Medium
- Document
- Issuer type
- Movement
- Regime
- Cnl Stanleyville Government
- Leader
- Christophe Gbenye
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Elections and party politics
- Event
- Congo Crisis
- Techniques
- Transfer
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (1964 document of a defunct government, per Commons; published abroad without US notice)
People's Republic of the Congo (Stanleyville), 1964; scan via mbokamosika.com and Wikimedia Commons
Text on the object
M. N. C. Lumumba LAISSEZ-PASSER REPUBLIQUE POPULAIRE DU CONGO COMITE NATIONAL DE LA LIBERTE Stanleyville
M. N. C. (Mouvement National Congolais) Lumumba / Laissez-passer (travel pass) / People's Republic of the Congo / National Committee of Freedom / Stanleyville
Read from a small 500 px scan; the inner-page text behind the portrait shows through faintly and is not legible. Accents on 'REPUBLIQUE' and 'COMITE' are not visible in the print and are transcribed without them. 'M. N. C.' is read as the initials of the Mouvement National Congolais, Lumumba's party.
