Belgian ex-diplomat Davignon dies before trial over Lumumba assassination
Davignon, 93, was referred to trial in March over the transfer and mistreatment of Patrice Lumumba and two allies, lawyers said.
- Étienne Davignon, 93, died on Monday while appealing a Brussels Court order to face trial for his alleged role in Patrice Lumumba's 1961 assassination, effectively ending the criminal proceedings.
- In March, the Brussels Court referred Davignon to trial on charges including illegal transfer and mistreatment of Lumumba, citing a 1960 telex co-authored by him stating "the overthrow of the government according to our wishes."
- Davignon was the only remaining suspect in a 2011 case launched by Lumumba's children against ten Belgian officials; a 2002 Belgian parliamentary inquiry had previously stated the state bore "moral responsibility" for the killing.
- Lawyers for the Lumumba family stated they will now pursue civil action against the Belgian state to establish responsibility for colonial crimes and seek further accountability.
- Lumumba, whom the CIA claimed was a Russian sympathizer, remains a symbol of foreign interference in Africa during the Cold War era when newly-independent nations became geopolitical pawns.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Belgian diplomat linked to Lumumba case dies before landmark trial
More than six decades after Lumumba’s death, the search for truth and justice continues to resonate in both Belgium and the Congo, where his legacy remains deeply tied to the struggle for sovereignty and dignity.
Last Suspect in the Murder of Congolese Leader Lumumba Dies, Just Before the Trial Was Due to Start.
Former Belgian diplomat Étienne Davignon was due to appear in court in June for his role in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister...
Davignon was charged in March with war crimes, allegedly for participating in the "illegal arrest or transfer of Lumumba" and for preventing an impartial trial of the DRC leader.
The Belgian diplomat, Patrice Lumumba, and Africa’s sliding doors moment
The killing of Patrice Lumumba, DR Congo's first democratically-elected prime minister, shaped decades of crisis, failed governments and tension in the Great Lakes region. And the death of the Belgian diplomat who had been due to stand trial in relation to his execution closes a chapter on Belgium's dark colonial past.
On Monday, May 18, the death of the Belgian stateman, Étienne Davignon, to 93 years of age. A diplomat, politician and business leader, he had returned to the spotlight, despite himself, since his name was one of the suspects in the complaint for the murder, in Katanga, on January 17, 1961, of Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Congo, to his independence from Belgium.
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