CONGOLESE independence leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated in 1961 by soldiers acting on the orders of a Belgian army captain in the presence of other Belgian officers, a new book claimed on Friday. Investigative author Ludo de Witte claimed Belgium was directly responsible for the assassination of Lumumba, the first post-independence leader in its former colony the Congo, because it wanted to maintain western interests, thought best served by Mobutu Sese Seko. De Witte’s revelations have prompted calls in Brussels for a Belgian parliamentary enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Lumumba. Launching “The Assassination of Lumumba” (“L’assassinat de Lumumba”), published by Editions Karthala, the Belgian sociologist said the aim of the killing was to keep Congo within the western sphere of influence during the Cold War.