Belgium could start a Lumumba trial next year

A former diplomat involved in the plot to murder Lumumba may face trial if a magistrate allows the case to proceed

Kiri Rupiah

The coffin of slain Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba is carried by military personnel from an aircraft on arrival at Tshumbe in the Democratic Republic of Cong on 22 June 2022. (Photo by Junior Kannah/AFP)

In 2022, the only mortal remains of Patrice Lumumba, a single gold-capped tooth, were returned to his family, more than 60 years after his murder.

The first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was killed in a plot orchestrated by American spies and Belgian officials. Only now are Belgian prosecutors planning to go after anyone for their role in the 1961 killing.

Étienne Davignon, 92, is accused of being involved in the “unlawful detention and transfer” of Lumumba. A magistrate will decide in January 2026 whether he should stand trial.

Lumumba served as the DRC’s first prime minister for less than three months after the country became independent from Belgian colonial rule in 1960. He was removed amid a secessionist crisis in mineral-rich Katanga. Belgium supported the secessionists and sent troops under the pretext of protecting Belgian nationals.

Once removed, Lumumba was beaten by Belgian and Congolese officials, and executed by firing squad, along with two of his allies: Joseph Okito and Maurice Mpolo. Initially buried in a shallow grave, his body was later exhumed, cut up and dissolved in acid, a disposal overseen by Belgian police commissioner Gerard Soete, who then kept the gold-capped tooth.

Davignon is the only surviving Belgian among 10 once accused of taking part in the events. According to the Brussels Times, he was a trainee diplomat at the time and became a vice-chairman of the European Commission in the 1980s.

In 2001, Belgium concluded it bore a moral responsibility for Lumumba’s killing. His son, François, filed a civil case in 2011 accusing Belgium of war crimes, torture, and a conspiracy to remove Lumumba.

Speaking to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, Lumumba’s daughter Juliana welcomed the potential legal action, saying, “We’re moving in the right direction … what we’re seeking is, first and foremost, the truth.”