A Belgian Former Diplomat will be on Trial for the Death of Patrice Lumumba

In a judgment that was welcomed as a significant step toward confronting the colonial past of the country, a former Belgian diplomat who is now 93 years old was ordered to stand trial on Tuesday for the murder of Patrice Lumumba, a prominent figure in the Congolese independence movement, which occurred in 1961.

In addition to being the only Belgian who is still alive among the ten Belgians who have been accused by the family of the Congolese leader of being involved in his assassination, Etienne Davignon, who was a European commissioner in the past, is among those who are accused of participating in “war crimes.”

Mehdi Lumumba, the grandson of the former prime minister, described the Brussels court’s judgment as “historic.” The ruling is still open to appeal. “Everyone here is relieved,” he said to AFP. “Belgium is finally confronting its history.

In the sixty-five years that have passed since Lumumba was put to death and his body was dissolved in acid, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to be brought before the court of law if the trial will proceed.

In its ruling, the court went beyond the submissions made by the prosecutors and expanded the scope of the trial to include the political associates of Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, who were also assassinated at the same time as Lumumba.

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