Lumumba died on February 25, 2014 at the St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. He was aged 66. The cause of death was not made clear, though Jackson City Council president Charles Tillman, who was sworn in as acting mayor, said he had a meeting with Lumumba the previous day and that he had a cold. City Councilman Quentin Whitwell told reporters that Lumumba died of heart failure.