Following Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba's deposition in September 1960 in the midst of the Congo Crisis, many of his supporters became disillusioned with the government in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa).

Under Lumumba's deputy, Antoine Gizenga, leftists organised in Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) and in December declared their own government to be the legal successor to the prime minister's administration.

The government was paralyzed by the political battle that ensued, and on 14 September, Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu announced a takeover in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa) and the installation of his own administration.

[2] Antoine Gizenga, Lumumba's deputy prime minister, left for Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) on 13 November to form his own government.

[4] General Victor Lundula, Lumumba's army commander who had been arrested by Mobutu, escaped custody in Léopoldville and made his way to Stanleyville.

The army's cohesion was primarily due to the soldiers' admiration and respect for Lundula and their attraction to Lumumba's nationalist ideals.

[4] On 27 November, the deposed prime minister escaped from his house and made his way towards Stanleyville to join Gizenga, but he was arrested five days later and imprisoned at the army camp in Thysville.

[10][2] Thomas Kanza, Lumumba's appointed delegate to the United Nations, switched allegiances and acted as a representative for Gizenga abroad.

[17] By 20 February 1961, the Free Republic of the Congo was recognised as the legitimate government of the country by the Soviet Union, China, Mongolia, Poland, East Germany, Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Cuba, Iraq, the United Arab Republic, Ghana, Guinea, the Algerian provisional government, and Morocco.

This money was to be used to pay the rival government's soldiers, as taxes had not been levied in its territory and it was not receiving any revenue by which it could fund the army.

In order to bolster his army, Lundula increased recruitment efforts among the unemployed youth in Stanleyville and younger members of the Mouvement National Congolais.

Jean Miruho, the Provincial President of Kivu, tried to intervene the next day, but he too was arrested by Gizenga's soldiers and sent to Stanleyville along with the Bukavu army commander.

At dawn, on 1 January 1961, central government troops advised by the Belgians entered Bukavu from Ruanda and occupied the Saio military camp.

[20] The situation in southern Kivu became chaotic in the following months; Europeans were robbed, beaten, and harassed, with many choosing to flee the area, while over 200 Congolese were killed.

[22] The rival government reached its greatest territorial extent on 24 February when some of its forces briefly earned the allegiance of the Luluabourg garrison.

Once there, he was brutally tortured at the hands of Moïse Tshombe and Godefroid Munongo, his chief political rivals and the leaders of the secessionist state.

[25] When news of Lumumba's death broke in February, 3,000–4,000 angry soldiers gathered in the European quarter of Stanleyville to enact revenge upon the local residents.

At the conclusion of the last meeting, the delegates signed an agreement stipulating the holding of a UN-supervised conference at Lovanium University to discuss the political future of the Congo.

[33] The mending of relations was formally celebrated on 15 August when Adoula flew to Stanleyville and laid a wreath on a monument dedicated to Lumumba.

[34] With Gizenga brought back into the central government, the Soviets quickly returned their diplomatic mission to Léopoldville and encouraged Adoula to carry on Lumumba's legacy and end the Katangan secession.

After being informed on the plan for Stanleyville's integration into the central government, the UAR announced that it would relocate its embassy back to the capital in January 1962.

[43] In December the central government reached a temporary truce with Katanga, and refocused its efforts on eliminating the threat posed by Gizenga.

[44] On 23 December 25 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, introduced a motion calling for the central government to recall Gizenga to the capital, disband his gendarmerie, and appoint a special commissioner to assume control over Orientale's administration.

[44] On 8 January 1962, the Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution demanding that Gizenga be recalled and return to Léopoldville within 48 hours, the disbanding of his militia, and the appointment of a special commission to reestablish central authority in Orientale.

The following day, the provincial president of Orientale pledged his support to the central government and expressed his wish for Gizenga to leave Stanleyville.

[50] In May, a Chamber of Deputies commission found Gizenga guilty of inciting a mutiny, mistreating prisoners, and seeking foreign aid (from President Nasser of Egypt) to launch a rebellion.