Brussels, 18 May 2026. The Lumumba family’s legal team has been informed of the death of Étienne Davignon, a former Belgian diplomat and senior state official, allegedly involved in the abduction and murder of Patrice Émery Lumumba.
This death brings to an end the legal proceedings initiated more than 15 years ago, following a criminal complaint concerning the assassinations of Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito. It is therefore deeply regrettable that the Lumumba family is denied a criminal judicial outcome in this case.
This procedural development must, however, not obscure the historical significance of developments that have taken place in recent years. After more than 15 years of legal struggle, the Lumumba family and their legal team secured an unprecidented indictment – the first in Belgium and Europe to address criminal liability for a political crime committed in a colonial context.
On 17 March 2026, the Chamber of Council of the Brussels Court of First Instance took a historic decision by ordering the referral of Étienne Davignon, the last alleged perpetrator still alive, to the criminal court for war crimes and the murders of Lumumba, Mpolo and Okito. The federal prosecutor’s submissions and the court’s decision represented a major step forward in the search for truth and accountability, not only for Belgium but more broadly for the issue of European colonial crimes. These developments have laid the essential historical, legal and factual foundations for the ongoing pursuit of justice.
The Lumumba family, for its part, points out that: “When François Lumumba filed the initial criminal complaint on 23 June 2011, he named several Belgian citizens for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Patrice Émery Lumumba, Maurice M'polo and Joseph Okito, Mr Davignon included. With his passing, these criminal proceedings are formally extinguished. The Belgian federal prosecutor, after a thorough investigation, and the Brussels Court of First Instance concluded that this case merited trial, and that conclusion stands on the record; for the death of the last living accused does not close the historical record.”
Further legal action against Belgian state planned
After more than six decades of impunity, the passing of Mr Davignon therefore cannot bring the Lumumba family’s struggle to an end. This struggle extends beyond individual criminal liability. It also concerns the responsibility of the Belgian authorities for the assassination of Lumumba, as well as the lasting consequences of colonial history.
In this context, the legal team confirms that it will continue its work to pursue further legal action, particularly in the form of a civil complaint against the Belgian State. Although Belgium acknowledged its moral responsibility for the assassination in 2001, it is now necessary to establish legal responsibility and to carry out a genuine truth-seeking process regarding colonial crimes.
“Davignon’s death cannot erase Belgium’s legal responsibility for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. A civil action against the Belgian state must enable the truth to be established and justice to be done. Through this historic indictment, the Brussels courts have laid the foundations for this new phase – an important precedent for justice regarding European colonial crimes”, states Wolfgang Kaleck, Secretary General of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and legal adviser to the Lumumba family.
The quest for justice for Patrice Lumumba, his descendants, and the ideals he embodied – sovereignty, emancipation, and the right of peoples to self-determination – continues.
