Belgian authorities have ordered the trial of former diplomat Etienne Davignon over his alleged role in the 1961 killing of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s independence icon, AP reported March 17, citing local media. The case centers on the death of Lumumba, who was 35 when he was killed after Congo gained independence from Belgium in June 1960.
According to the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, Davignon faces charges that the prosecutors described as “participation in war crimes.” The charging document ties the allegation to Lumumba’s “unlawful detention and transfer,” according to AP’s account of the proceedings.
Davignon, 93, has previously denied wrongdoing. After the court’s decision, he has two weeks to appeal the charges, AP reported, citing the Belgian court process as covered by local media.
AP said the prosecution’s case identifies Davignon as one of 10 Belgians with suspected involvement in Lumumba’s killing, with Davignon identified by AP as the last living among those named. At the time of Lumumba’s death, AP reported, Davignon was a junior diplomatic intern in Kinshasa.
The charges come after long-running legal efforts by Lumumba’s children. AP said the case followed a 2011 court filing by Lumumba’s children in Belgium seeking justice for their father, who was killed in January 1961—AP reported that while Lumumba’s killers were Congolese, questions have persisted about whether Belgium and the United States played a role because of Lumumba’s perceived Communist ties.
AP also described the historical background to Lumumba’s political rise and fall after independence. Lumumba served briefly as Congo’s first prime minister for three months before he was forced out, and he was killed a year later.
The AP report added that Lumumba’s body was never found, and it said he was suspected to have been dissolved in acid.