US EditionBelgium Seeking to Put Ex-Official on Trial over Killing of Congo's Lumumba
- On June 17, 2025, Belgian prosecutors declared their plan to charge Etienne Davignon, a 92-year-old former diplomat and the last living member of a group implicated in a 2011 lawsuit by Patrice Lumumba’s family, for his role in the 1961 assassination of the Congolese leader in Katanga.
- Davignon faces charges related to his role in the illegal imprisonment and relocation of Lumumba, and is the last surviving member of ten Belgians sued by Lumumba's children in 2011 for their alleged involvement in the assassination.
- Lumumba, Congo's first prime minister and a critic of Belgian rule, was ousted, taken prisoner, and executed by firing squad on January 17, 1961, with tacit Belgian backing during political turmoil following independence.
- The only remaining part of Lumumba's body, a gold-capped tooth, was returned to his family in 2022. His daughter Juliana expressed optimism about the development, emphasizing that their primary goal is uncovering the truth.
- A hearing set for early 2026 will decide whether Davignon will face trial, representing a notable moment in Belgium’s ongoing confrontation with its colonial involvement in the assassination of Lumumba.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Belgium seeking to put ex-official on trial over killing of Congo's Lumumba
Over 60 years after the killing of the first Congolese prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, prosecutors in Belgium announced Tuesday they were looking to try the last of 10 Belgians accused of complicity in the murder of the iconic leader, in the European country's latest effort to reckon with its colonial past.
Belgium seeks to try former diplomatic official over 1961 killing of
BRUSSELS: Belgian prosecutors said Tuesday that they were seeking to put a 92-year-old former diplomat on trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. Etienne Davignon is the only one still alive among 10 Belgians who were accused of complicity in the murder of the independence icon in a 2011 lawsuit filed by Lumumba’s children. If he goes on trial,
Patrice Lumumba, first prime minister of the independent Congo, was a politician and a national hero. His children are still fighting for his murder to be cleared up. Now the case is being renegotiated in Brussels.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office stated that it had requested the referral to the Brussels Correctional Court of former Belgian diplomat Etienne Davignon, in connection with the investigation into the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, a hero of Congolese independence.
The federal prosecutor's office is requesting that top diplomat and former European Commissioner Etienne Davignon (92) be referred to the court, because he may have been involved in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo, in 1961. This was reported by RTBF and confirmed by the federal prosecutor's office. The council chamber will consider the referral this morning, but Davignon's lawyer will request a postponement.
Belgian Prosecutors Seek Trial For Former Diplomat Over Lumumba’s Assassination
Belgian prosecutors are moving to put 92-year-old former diplomat Etienne Davignon on trial for his alleged involvement in the 1961 killing of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, marking a historic step in a decades-long quest for justice. Davignon, who was a trainee diplomat at the time, is accused of complicity in Lumumba’s unlawful detention and transfer, as well as his humiliating and degrading treatment before his execution. He i…
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