Belgian court clears way for trial over 1961 killing of Congo PM Lumumba

A Belgian court has ruled that Etienne Davignon, a former trainee diplomat and now 93, can face trial over the 1961 killing of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first prime minister.

Davignon is accused of participating in Lumumba’s unlawful detention, transfer, and degrading treatment. He is the only surviving member among the ten Belgians implicated in a criminal case brought by Lumumba’s family in 2011.

Lumumba, a central figure in Africa’s anti-colonial movement, was executed by firing squad in January 1961, and his body was reportedly dissolved in acid. Belgium, the former colonial power, has formally acknowledged its responsibility and issued apologies to both Lumumba’s relatives and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mehdi Lumumba, the independence hero’s grandson, welcomed the ruling, telling AFP, “We are all relieved. Belgium is finally confronting its history.” The decision can still be appealed.

Lumumba became Congo’s prime minister in June 1960, following independence. Despite Belgium’s formal withdrawal, his nationalist stance and push for true sovereignty were seen as a threat to continued Belgian influence. In a notable speech on Independence Day, Lumumba, then 34, publicly condemned Belgium for keeping the Congolese in “humiliating slavery.”

He was deposed in a coup in September 1960 and captured two months later. In January 1961, with Belgium’s tacit backing, he was executed alongside two associates.

During the Cold War, Western powers suspected Lumumba of having communist sympathies, though he denied being a communist. A 1975 US Senate investigation revealed that the CIA had plotted to assassinate him, a plan that was never executed; however, he was ultimately killed by Belgian-backed Congolese forces.

TNAM

Edited By Egwu patience Nnennaya.