A Belgian court has ruled that a former diplomat can stand trial over the 1961 killing of Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first prime minister.
Etienne Davignon, now 93, is accused of involvement in Lumumba’s unlawful detention, transfer, and degrading treatment. At the time, he was a trainee diplomat and later rose to become a vice-president of the European Commission.
Davignon is the only surviving Belgian among 10 individuals accused in a criminal complaint filed by Lumumba’s family in 2011.
Lumumba, a leading figure in Africa’s anti-colonial movement, was executed by firing squad, and his body was later dissolved in acid in an attempt to erase evidence of the crime.
Belgium, the former colonial power, has since acknowledged its role in the events and issued apologies to both Lumumba’s family and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Reacting to the ruling, Lumumba’s grandson, Mehdi Lumumba, said the family felt relief. “Belgium is finally confronting its history,” he told AFP. The decision, however, remains subject to appeal.
Lumumba became prime minister in June 1960, following Congo’s independence from Belgium. At just 34, he was one of the most prominent and outspoken leaders of the anti-colonial struggle.
During independence celebrations, in the presence of King Baudouin, Lumumba delivered a powerful speech condemning the abuses of colonial rule, describing the Congolese people’s experience as one of “humiliating slavery.”
Months later, in September 1960, he was overthrown in a coup, captured, and in January 1961, executed alongside two allies, with the tacit backing of Belgian authorities.
While Lumumba denied being a communist, Western powers viewed him with suspicion during the Cold War. A 1975 US Senate inquiry later found that the Central Intelligence Agency had plotted to assassinate him, although the plan was never carried out.
