Lumumba family takes Belgian state to civil court following Étienne Davignon’s death

The Lumumba family is set to take further legal action, specifically in the civil courts and against the Belgian state, to bring to light responsibility for colonial crimes. The family’s lawyers announced this on Monday following the death of the Belgian statesman Étienne Davignon.

Étienne Davignon (93) was at the centre of the legal battle that the descendants of Patrice Lumumba have been waging for 15 years. He was the last surviving Belgian against whom the complaint had been filed by François Lumumba on 23 June 2011 against ten individuals suspected of involvement in the assassination of the first head of government of independent Congo, committed on 17 January 1961.

Belgian statesman Étienne Davignon dies aged 93

Etienne Davignon, one of the most influential figures in post-war Belgium, has died at the age of 93.

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According to the Lumumba family, it is “deeply regrettable” that Étienne Davignon’s death has led to the termination of the criminal proceedings that have been ongoing against him for 15 years. They emphasise that a court in Brussels “had taken a historic step” by ordering, on 17 March, the referral of Davignon to a criminal court for his possible involvement in the war crimes that led to the assassination of Lumumba.

“The proceedings brought by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the court’s decision represented a significant step forward in the search for truth and accountability, not only for Belgium, but more generally for the issue of European colonial crimes. These developments have laid the historical, legal and factual foundations that are essential for continuing the quest for justice,” the Lumumba family’s lawyers stated in a press release.

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“Given that no further criminal proceedings are possible to secure justice for the murders of Patrice Lumumba, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito,” the Lumumba family’s lawyers confirmed on Monday that they will take new legal action, particularly in the civil sphere and against the Belgian state.

“After more than six decades of impunity, the death of Mr Davignon therefore does not mark the end of the struggle being waged by the Lumumba family,” they emphasised.

^{Press conference by family members of Patrice Lumumba and their lawyers © PHOTO Nicolas Landemard / Le Pictorium}

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