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BRUSSELS, Belgium— More than six decades after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first prime minister, a Belgian prosecutor is moving to bring a 92-year-old former diplomat to trial for his alleged involvement in the 1961 killing. This unprecedented development marks a significant moment in Belgium’s ongoing reckoning with its colonial legacy and the dark chapters of its past in Africa. Etienne Davignon, who was a trainee diplomat at the time of Lumumba’s death, is accused of complicity in the “unlawful detention and transfer” of Lumumba and his “humiliating and degrading treatment.”
The move to prosecute Davignon comes after a protracted legal battle initiated by Lumumba’s children in 2011, seeking justice for their father’s brutal murder at the age of 35. Otherwise, Lumumba was a flamboyant talkative man; he was the overseer of the independence of Congo of Belgium in 1960. However, his vision for a truly independent and unified Congo clashed with Belgian and Western interests, particularly concerning the country’s vast mineral wealth. His short spell as prime minister was marked by political instability, pre and post-secessionist tendencies, and even foreign influence.
Lumumba was ultimately dismissed from his post and, in January 1961, was executed by a firing squad in the secessionist province of Katanga. Historical accounts and investigations have revealed that Belgium, the former colonial power, had tacit backing in his assassination. A Belgian parliamentary commission of inquiry concluded in 2001 that Belgium bore “moral responsibility” for the assassination, leading to a formal apology from the Belgian government a year later to Lumumba’s family and the Congolese nation.
Davignon is reportedly the sole surviving member among ten Belgians accused of complicity in Lumumba’s murder. He was a trainee diplomat at the time of the assassination. Later, he became a prominent figure, getting to the position of the vice-chairman of the European Commission in the 1980s. At a subsequent hearing, which is scheduled in January in the year 2026, whether he should be ordered to stand trial by a magistrate or not.
The family has had to endure a long and tedious process to secure justice to Lumumba. His daughter, Juliana Lumumba, expressed cautious optimism about the latest development, telling Belgian broadcaster RTBF, “We’re moving in the right direction. What we’re seeking is, first and foremost, the truth.”
The gruesome details surrounding Lumumba’s death underscore the brutality of the era. On his execution he was dissected and dissolved in acid. Police commissioner of Belgium Gerard Soete, who supervised the destruction, was infamous to have stolen a gold-crowned tooth as a macabre memento. This tooth was eventually handed over to Lumumba’s family by the Belgian authorities in 2022, a symbolic gesture after decades of denial and obfuscation.
Lumumba’s political career was meteoric but tragically short-lived. Following the independence of Congo, he was confronted with a mountain of problems such as a secessionist crisis in prime mineral producing Katanga province. Katangan administration was more friendly to their interests as Belgian troops were on the contrary seen as there to defend Belgian nationals. The political chaos culminated in Army Chief of Staff Col. Joseph Mobutu seizing power shortly after Lumumba’s dismissal.
Lumumba was then put on house arrest, escaped and was arrest again in December 1960. The presence of Katungans were considered unstable, and the Belgian government also facilitated his move to Katanga. He was beat-up in the course of the flight and was beaten even more at arrival. He was part of a firing squad of which were executed together with two allies on January 17, 1961.
This trial that is happening even after so many years is an important one that will lead to accountability and historical accuracy. It highlights the enduring impact of colonial-era injustices and the persistent efforts of victims’ families to seek redress. The world is observing as the battle to redress some of the historical injustice is lived out by Belgium, which can serve as basis to other historical injustices.
