When is the Day of Martyrs?
This public holiday in the Democratic Republic of Congo is observed on January 4th each year.
It is a day that remembers the victims of the violence from human rights violations as well as those who were fighting for justice.
History of the Day of Martyrs
In the late 1950s, the Congolese began to push for their right to be independent from Belgium control.
On January 4th 1959, riots broke out in Léopoldville after police had broken up a meeting of the independence group ABAKO. After two days of violence, 47 people, all Congolese, had been killed and 379 Africans and Europeans had been injured.
And although DR Congo would gain its independence in June 1960, the sacrifice of those who died standing up for their country is remembered on this day.
