The Belgian judiciary will hear a closed-door case on Tuesday to decide whether former diplomat Etienne Davignon, now 93, should face trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba’s family has pressed for 15 years for answers about alleged Belgian complicity, and prosecutors accuse Davignon of involvement in unlawful detention and degrading treatment. Investigators have already recovered one of Lumumba’s teeth, returned to the DRC in 2022. The court is expected to rule within weeks, with the family hoping a trial could take place in early 2027.
Belgian Court to Decide Whether Ex-Diplomat Will Face Trial Over Patrice Lumumba’s 1961 Killing
Patrice Lumumba became Congolese leader when the country gained independence but was assassinated a short while later (STRINGER)(STRINGER/AFP/AFP)
A Belgian court will hold a closed-door hearing on Tuesday to decide whether a former senior diplomat should stand trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba.
For the past 15 years Lumumba’s family has pushed Belgian authorities for what they call a long-overdue legal reckoning into alleged Belgian complicity in his murder. Roland Lumumba, one of Patrice Lumumba’s sons, said the family seeks answers rather than revenge.
“This is not about revenge, but about a thirst for knowledge,” Roland Lumumba told AFP. “Millions of people would like to know the truth.”
The killing of Lumumba — who became prime minister when the Congo gained independence in 1960 — remains one of the darkest episodes in Belgium’s colonial history. Reports say Lumumba was executed in 1961 and his body later disappeared; Belgian investigators have alleged elements of a wider conspiracy involving local actors and foreign operatives.
Accusation Against Etienne Davignon
Belgian federal prosecutors say 93-year-old Etienne Davignon, a junior Belgian diplomat at the time who later became a European Commission vice-president, was involved in the "unlawful detention and transfer" of Lumumba and in subjecting him to "humiliating and degrading treatment." Davignon has consistently denied any Belgian role in the killing. His lawyer declined to comment ahead of the hearing.
Ongoing Investigation And Evidence
The Belgian probe into possible war crimes in the Congo has already produced a macabre piece of evidence: one of Lumumba’s teeth, the only known remain linked to the assassinated leader. Authorities seized the tooth from the daughter of a deceased Belgian police officer implicated in the disappearance of Lumumba’s body and returned it to Democratic Republic of Congo officials in a coffin during an official ceremony in 2022.
At the handover, then-Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo offered official apologies and acknowledged a moral responsibility, criticizing Belgian officials of the era who "chose not to see" and "not to act."
The court is expected to announce within weeks whether the case will proceed to trial. Lawyers for Lumumba’s family have said they hope a trial, if authorized, could take place in early 2027.
Whatever the court decides, the hearing marks a significant moment in efforts to confront Belgium’s colonial past and to determine legal accountability nearly 65 years after Lumumba’s death.
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