Facts
On 30 June 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) gained its independence from Belgium. Patrice Lumumba, an important figure in the DRC’s struggle for independence, was appointed as the first prime minister after winning the elections. The new government faced an army mutiny and a Belgian-supported movement of secession in the strategic mineral-rich province of Katanga.
In December 1960, Lumumba was arrested by the military. On 17 January 1961, he was transferred to the Katanga region, where he was beaten allegedly by both Belgian and Congolese forces. He was murdered on the same day, and his body dissolved in acid.
Procedure
In 2010, a Belgian parliamentary commission of inquiry was set up to investigate Lumumba’s murder. After 18 months of investigation, the commission revealed that the Belgian government supported Lumumba’s arrest and transfer to the Katanga region. It stated that, while there is no evidence that the Belgian government gave the order to physically eliminate Lumumba, Belgium bears responsibility for not having taken action to prevent the murder. The Commission therefore concluded that “by not considering the possible risks of the transfer, not asking guarantees for his physical safety or insisting on humane treatment and a trial, the Belgian government and especially the Minister of African Affairs showed a lack of forethought and a lack of respect for the constitutional state.”
In 2011, Lumumba’s son filed a complaint for the murder of his father. He argued that an international armed conflict was going on between Belgium and the DRC, and that this targeted killing was constitutive of a war crime.
In 2012, a criminal investigation was opened.
On 6 October 2022, the Brussels Criminal Chamber decided to add the parliamentary commission of inquiry’s findings on Lumumba’s death to the investigation file. All the testimonies collected by the commission were therefore included, except the transcript of the interviews of the two suspects (Etienne Davignon and Jacques Brassinne de la Buissière), due to the fact that they had not been heard in the presence of their lawyers.
In 2024, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office completed the investigation into Etienne Davignon.
On 17 June 2025, the Brussels Council Chamber held a hearing on the request by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to refer Davignon to trial at the Court of Assizes (Cour d’assises) for the war crimes of humiliating and degrading treatment, unlawful detention and denying a prisoner of war the right to a fair and impartial trial. The Council Chamber postponed the decision on the request, scheduling a new hearing for 20 January 2026.
On 17 March 2026, the Council Chamber decided to open a trial against Etienne Davignon for the war crimes of unlawful transfer and confinement, wilfully depriving a protected person of the right to a fair and regular trial, as well as humiliating and degrading treatment. He appealed this decision.