 They thought he was gravitating toward the Soviet Union, although, according to Sean Kelly, who covered the events as a correspondent for the Voice of America, that was not because Lumumba was a communist, but because he felt that USSR was the only power which would support his country's effort to rid itself of colonial rule.The US was the first country from which Lumumba requested help.Lumumba, for his part, denied being a communist, and said that he found colonialism and communism to be equally deplorable.