A Brussels court has ordered a 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat to stand trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese independence icon Patrice Lumumba.
Belgian prosecutors have moved a step closer to putting a former senior official on trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, in a case that many see as a landmark moment in Europe’s reckoning with its colonial past.
Etienne Davignon, now the only surviving Belgian among 10 individuals accused by Lumumba’s family of involvement in the murder, is facing allegations of participation in war crimes. Tuesday’s decision to pursue the case – still subject to appeal – has been welcomed by Lumumba’s relatives as a long-awaited breakthrough.
“We are all relieved,” Lumumba’s grandson, Mehdi Lumumba, told reporters, describing the development as “historic”. He added that Belgium was “finally confronting its history”.
If the case proceeds to trial, Davignon would become the first Belgian official to face justice over the events surrounding Lumumba’s death – 65 years after the independence leader was executed and his body dissolved in acid.
Davignon, who later served as a vice president of the European Commission, denies all charges. His lawyers argued during a closed-door hearing in January that too much time had elapsed for a fair trial to take place. Lumumba’s family, however, insist that the passage of time does not diminish the need for accountability.
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