Belgian ex-diplomat appeals order to stand trial in Congo's Lumumba murder

RiddleMaster · 2026-03-27T22:44:02+00:00

A former Belgian diplomat, Etienne Davignon, has appealed a court ruling requiring him to stand trial for his alleged involvement in the 1961 assassination of Congo's first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.

RiddleMaster

2026-03-27 22:44:02

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BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - A former high-profile Belgian diplomat has appealed against a court decision ordering him to stand trial over the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first ‌prime minister, in 1961, the ex-diplomat’s lawyer told Reuters on Friday.

A Belgian court ordered 93-year-old Etienne Davignon, a former vice-president of the European Commission, on March 17 to face prosecution over his alleged involvement in Lumumba’s killing 65 years ago.

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Beyond confirming ⁠his client’s appeal, Davignon’s lawyer made no further comment on the case.

Prosecutors say Davignon, who was a junior diplomat at the time, participated in the unlawful detention or transfer of Lumumba and deprived him of his right to an impartial trial.

Of the Belgian officials accused of a role in the murder, Davignon is the sole surviving suspect.

Lumumba, who became prime minister of the country ‌now ⁠called the Democratic Republic of Congo upon its independence from Belgium in 1960, was ousted from power just months later and killed by Belgian-backed secessionist rebels on January 16, 1961.

A Belgian parliamentary investigation into Lumumba’s ⁠killing concluded in 2002 that Belgium was “morally responsible” for his death. But the trial of Davignon constitutes the first prosecution related to the murder, ⁠in what could be the final opportunity to pursue accountability for one of the most contentious episodes in Belgium’s colonial ⁠history.

Though his government lasted just three months, Lumumba became an anti-colonial icon as African nations pushed for independence from their European masters in the 1960s.

Reporting by Alexander Chituc Editing by Gareth Jones

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