Belgium’s Colonial Reckoning: Historic Trial Over Patrice Lumumba Assassination.

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On March 17, 2026, a Belgian court issued a historic ruling ordering Étienne Davignon, a 93-year-old retired Belgian statesman, to face trial for his alleged implication in the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2011, Lumumba’s family filed a criminal case against 11 Belgian citizens, of whom only Davignon remains alive, for their alleged involvement in Lumumba’s killing. This decision by the Belgian court comes after closed-door hearings in which both parties’ arguments were presented in January 2026. Davignon, whose trial is expected to take place in 2027, is now being prosecuted for three alleged war crimes: the illegal transfer of Patrice Lumumba and his associates, the “humiliating and degrading treatment” of the victims, and their deprivation of a fair trial. 

Lumumba’s death must be understood with the broader context of the Belgian colonization of the Congo in mind. During the Berlin Conference of 1885, King of the Belgians Leopold II was granted the Congolese territory as his own private property, renaming it the “Congo Free State”. This lasted until 1908, when the territory officially became a Belgian colony, the “Belgian Congo”, until its independence in 1960. Under Belgian rule, the Congo was brutally exploited for its natural resources, countless atrocities were committed by Belgian authorities, and millions of Congolese lives were lost. 

After gaining independence from Belgium, in 1960, the Congo’s first democratic elections were won by Patrice Lumumba, making him the newly established country’s first Prime Minister. However, Belgium did not look favourably upon the unitary and anti-colonial views that Lumumba and his party, the Mouvement National Congolais-Lumumba (MNC-L), had for the country. This eventually led to a coup being orchestrated by opponent Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, supported by Belgium and the CIA, in which Lumumba’s government fell. On January 17, 1961, after being captured and handed over to opposing forces, Patrice Lumumba was tragically assassinated by rebels of the Katanga province.

Although the trial has yet to take place, this case already carries a particular symbolic weight as it marks the first time an individual is being prosecuted by a European court for personal criminal responsibility in a case linked to European colonization. In 2001, a Parliamentary Investigation Commission had already established that Belgium had a “moral responsibility” in the events leading to Lumumba’s assassination, but this was only seen as a mere political acknowledgement of the situation,  as no judicial prosecutions followed. Therefore, Davignon’s case may constitute the last opportunity to effectively judge individual responsibility related to Lumumba’s death, finally leaving mere excuses behind in favour of a rightful application of international law.

The potential significance of this decision reaches far beyond this specific case. The efforts and perseverance of Lumumba’s family in their demand for reparative justice  may inspire similar atrocities caused by European colonisation to finally receive the attention and treatment they deserve. This marks an important step forward for the rights of victims and their descendants to seek truth, justice, and recognition, as well as for the willingness of Belgium to confront its brutal colonial past.  Indeed, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba symbolizes a dark chapter in the histories of both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium, deeply impacting both nations’ trajectories and their  relationship to this day.

written by Antonio Colilli