POLICE in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have arrested six people over a break-in and vandalism at the mausoleum of assassinated independence leader Patrice Lumumba.

During Monday’s break, a case containing a single gold-capped tooth, the only part of the former leader’s body that remained after his assassination, was smashed by the vandals, according to authorities. 

Police announced the six arrests on Wednesday night and said they were still looking for two more suspects.

Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani told reporters that Lumumba’s tooth was not damaged during the break-in in the capital Kinshasa.

“We assure that the relic is secure and it is protected,” the minister said, without offering more information.

The return of the tooth from former colonial power Belgium in 2022 had been celebrated across Congo, with the relic taken on a tour of the vast country so that people could pay their respects.

“We are happy that the perpetrators of this act have been arrested,” Jean-Jacques Lumumba, one of assassinated leader’s grandsons, told reporters.

“But we regret that the mausoleum has been abandoned by the country’s authorities,” he added.

“What is certain is that the relic is in a very secure place that we cannot name at this time.”