A curator said the coffin containing the gold-capped tooth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo independence hero Patrice Lumumba was broken into.

Congo’s government says the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba has been vandalized. It is not immediately clear whether Lumumba’s remains — a single gold-capped tooth — were damaged or stolen.

Congo has opened an investigation into vandalism on Monday evening at the mausoleum housing the tooth - thought to be the only known remains - of independence hero Patrice Lumumba, the culture ministry said on Tuesday.

The return of Lumumba’s tooth from former colonizer Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated around Congo, with the tooth taken around the vast country so people could pay their respects.

The mausoleum where the scant remains of DR Congo's fiery independence hero Patrice Lumumba are interred has been vandalised, the culture ministry said Tuesday. "An act of vandalism took place on Monday November 18,