The case of former Congolese prime minister Patrice Lumumba’s 1961 assassination is moving along, after a Belgian court ruled that former diplomat Etienne Davignon can now stand a criminal court trial.

The criminal investigation into Lumumba’s murder was opened in Belgium in 2011 following a complaint filed by the Lumumba family regarding "war crimes", specifically the unlawful detention and transfer of a prisoner of war, the deprivation of the prisoner’s right to a fair trial and the infliction of humiliating and degrading treatment.

Lumumba (pictured), regarded as a hero for Congolese independence, was executed by a firing squad and his body was dissolved in acid.

A 1975 US Senate inquiry claims that while the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plotted to assassinate Lumumba, the plan was not carried out and Lumumba was killed by Belgian-backed Congolese forces.

Davignon, who is now 93, was a young diplomat posted to the Congo region at the time and is the last surviving witness.

He stands accused of involvement in Lumumba’s unlawful detention, transfer and degrading treatment.

Davignon published his memoirs, Memories of Three Lives, in 2019, and the federal prosecutor’s office requested his referral to the criminal court in 2025 in connection with the assassination.

Lumumba’s grandson Mehdi Lumumba welcomed the decision to have Davignon stand trial.

“We are all relieved,” he told the AFP news agency. “Belgium is finally confronting its history.”

Born in 1932, Viscount Etienne Davignon began his professional career in diplomacy and went on to serve as chief of staff to foreign affairs minister Paul-Henri Spaak.

“The relationship was like that of a father and son,” Davignon said of that period when interviewed in 2019.

“Learning the ropes in such a warm environment, under someone whose authority you had no reason to question, saves you 10 years.”

His duties brought him into contact with world leaders and led him to deal with issues such as the Stanleyville hostage crisis in 1964.

Davignon also served as chief of staff to prime minister Pierre Harmel from 1965. In 1966, he became director-general of Belgian foreign policy and in 1973 the first president of the International Energy Agency, of which Belgium is a member.

In 1977, he served as European Commissioner for Industrial Affairs, then as vice-president of the European Commission. One of the issues he oversaw was the restructuring of the European steel industry and the decline of the sector.

In 1985, Davignon joined Société Générale de Belgique and served as its chairman from 1988 to 2001. This company, founded before Belgium’s independence, became a powerful holding company which played an active role in Belgium’s economic history and controlled not only banking activities but also industrial ones.

In the early 2000s, Davignon was called in to help following the bankruptcy of Sabena, the Belgian national airline. Together with businessman Maurice Lippens, head of Fortis bank, Davignon set up a plan to salvage what could be saved and helped raise funds to launch what is now known as Brussels Airlines.

One of Davignon’s last major ventures in the business world would also prove to be a failure: in 2008, when Fortis was in the midst of a financial meltdown, Davignon’s name was put forward to take over as chairman of the group. At the general meeting at Heysel, small shareholders were up in arms and blocked him from taking the role. Written by Helen Lyons, The  60 Bulletin, Belgium