Lumumba (film) - Disputed Scene

Disputed Scene

The film generated some controversy in 2002 when Frank Carlucci, a former American government official and policy advisor, persuaded HBO to delete a reference to him during the airing of the film. The scene in question involves a group of Belgian and Congolese officials deciding whether to kill Lumumba. Carlucci is asked for input, and he mumbles that the US government does not involve itself in the internal affairs of other countries. At the time, Carlucci was the second secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Congo. He denies playing any role in the death of Lumumba, saying "The scene is tendentious, false, libelous; it never happened and it is a cheap shot." According to one source, the scene was deleted from the version of the film that aired on HBO. Another source says that the scene was not deleted but the word "Carlucci" was bleeped in the dialogue and the name masked in the credits. The scene remains on the DVD version of the film.