A Belgian court is set to rule on whether a former senior diplomat will stand trial over the 1961 murder of DR Congo’s independence leader Patrice Lumumba, in a case that could mark the first prosecution of a Belgian official linked to the assassination.
Only one of the 10 Belgians accused by Lumumba’s family of complicity in his killing remains alive. He is Etienne Davignon, a former European Commission vice president.
Federal prosecutors have asked the court to refer Davignon to trial on charges of “participation in war crimes,” alleging involvement in the unlawful detention, transfer, and degrading treatment of Patrice Lumumba.
If the request is upheld, Davignon would become the first Belgian official to face trial more than six decades after Lumumba’s assassination in the then Zaire, Radio France International Reported.
Davignon has denied all charges. During a closed-door hearing in January, his lawyers argued that too much time had passed since the events for a fair trial to proceed.
Lumumba’s family has rejected that argument, insisting that accountability is long overdue.
“We are counting on the Belgian justice system to do its job and shed light on history,” Yema Lumumba, a granddaughter of the slain leader, is quoted by RFI as saying earlier this year.
Lumumba, a central figure in the struggle against colonial rule, became the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo after independence from Belgium in 1960.
His tenure was short-lived. Within months, he was ousted during a period of political turmoil that followed independence, amid tensions involving domestic rivals, Belgium, and Cold War powers including the United States.
He was arrested, transferred to the secessionist region of Katanga, and executed on January 17, 1961, at the age of 35. Historical investigations and inquiries have established that Belgian officials and mercenaries were involved in the events leading to his death.
His body was later dismembered and dissolved in acid in an effort to conceal evidence, leaving no remains except for one tooth that was taken as a souvenir.
Davignon, who had joined Belgium’s diplomatic service in 1959, was at an early stage of his career at the time. Prosecutors argue he was part of a broader chain of actions that contributed to Lumumba’s fate.
Lawyers for the Lumumba family describe the case as part of a wider “state-sponsored criminal enterprise,” arguing that accountability must extend to all those who played a role, regardless of rank.
The case forms part of Belgium’s long-running reckoning with its colonial past in Congo. In 2002, a Belgian parliamentary inquiry acknowledged the country’s “moral responsibility” in Lumumba’s assassination.
In 2022, Belgium returned a tooth—believed to be the only remaining physical trace of Lumumba—to DR Congo during an official ceremony.
The tooth had been kept by the family of a Belgian police officer involved in disposing of the body.
At the handover, then Prime Minister Alexander De Croo reiterated Belgium’s apology, stating that officials at the time had “chosen not to see” and “not to act.”
The court’s upcoming decision may be subject to appeal. If a trial is approved, lawyers for the Lumumba family have indicated proceedings could begin as early as 2027.
