US EditionBelgium orders ex-diplomat to stand trial for 1961 murder of Congo's Lumumba
Davignon, accused of war crimes including unlawful detention and degrading treatment, faces trial as Belgium confronts its colonial past and Lumumba's family demands accountability.
- On Tuesday a Brussels court ordered 93-year-old Etienne Davignon, former Belgian diplomat and European Commission vice-president, to stand trial over Patrice Lumumba's 1961 assassination.
- After Congo's independence on June 24, 1960, Patrice Lumumba became prime minister, was ousted months later, and killed in January 1961, while a 2002 Belgian parliamentary inquiry found Belgium morally responsible.
- Prosecutors say Davignon, accused of war crimes, participated in Lumumba's unlawful detention, transfer, and degrading treatment; investigators recovered the single tooth returned in 2022.
- If prosecuted, Etienne Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face justice in 65 years, as he is the sole survivor among ten accused, according to family members.
63 Articles
63 Articles
Belgian court orders trial of ex-diplomat for Congo independence icon Patrice Lumumba's killing
A Belgian court orders a 93-year-old former diplomat to stand trial over Patrice Lumumba’s 1961 assassination, in a rare case tied to Belgium’s colonial past. On Tuesday, local media say a court ordered the trial of Etienne Davignon, the last…
Belgian diplomat faces trial over 1961 Congo leader killing
Etienne Davignon, the only surviving suspect, is ordered to stand trial over war crimes tied to Patrice Lumumba's killing six decades ago. The case represents a historic moment in confronting Belgium's colonial past.
As EU Commissioner Étienne Davignon made a career. Now the Belgian judiciary accuses him of participating in the assassination of Congo's Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba in 1961. Davignon is the last alleged participant who is still alive.
A 93-year-old Belgian politician is said to have been involved in the murder of the first Prime Minister of the Congo - now he has to go to court. Lumumba was killed in 1961, one year after the independence of Belgium.
Former diplomat Étienne Davignon is the only one who is still alive of the 11 Belgians mentioned by the war crimes complaint filed in 2011 by the sons of the first president of the former colonyOPINION — The memory of Lumumba The Chamber of the Council of Brussels, a court of first instance, decided this Tuesday to try the former Belgian politician and businessman Étienne Davignon, 93 years old and vice-president of the European Commission betwe…
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