Former Belgian diplomat challenges decision to face trial for involvement in Lumumba’s murder in Congo

A former prominent Belgian diplomat has filed an appeal against a court ruling that requires him to stand trial for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of Congo, in 1961, as reported by the ex-diplomat’s lawyer to Reuters on Friday.

On March 17, a Belgian court mandated that 93-year-old Etienne Davignon, a former vice-president of the European Commission, confront prosecution regarding his purported role in the killing of Lumumba 65 years prior.

Aside from affirming his client’s appeal, Davignon’s lawyer refrained from providing any additional remarks regarding the case.

Prosecutors allege that Davignon, then a junior diplomat, took part in the illegal detention or transfer of Lumumba and denied him his right to a fair trial.

Among the Belgian officials implicated in the murder, Davignon stands as the only remaining suspect.

Lumumba, who assumed the role of prime minister of what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo following its independence from Belgium in 1960, was removed from power only a few months later and was killed by Belgian-supported secessionist rebels on January 16, 1961.

A Belgian parliamentary investigation into Lumumba’s killing concluded in 2002 that Belgium bore “moral responsibility” for his death. The trial of Davignon marks the inaugural prosecution connected to the murder, representing a potential last chance to seek accountability for one of the most disputed events in Belgium’s colonial history.

Although his government endured for only three months, Lumumba emerged as an anti-colonial symbol during the 1960s, a time when African nations sought independence from their European rulers.