World
Ex-Belgian diplomat ordered to stand trial over murder of Congo’s Lumumba
Etienne Davignon, 93, is the only one alive among 10 Belgians accused by the Congolese leader’s family of complicity.
Published On 17 Mar 2026
A 93-year-old former Belgian diplomat has been ordered by a Brussels court to stand trial over the assassination of Congo’s first prime minister and anti-colonial icon, Patrice Lumumba, in 1961.
Lumumba, who became the prime minister of the country – now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo – upon its independence from Belgium on June 24, 1960, was ousted in September of the same year and later killed by a Belgian-backed secessionist rebel group just months later on January 16, 1961.
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But in 2002, a parliamentary investigation found that Belgium was “morally responsible” for Lumumba’s death.
On Tuesday, Etienne Davignon, 93, a former European commissioner who was a junior diplomat at the time, stands trial over his death, marking the first trial related to the murder of Lumumba.
He is also accused of being involved in the murder of Lumumba’s political allies, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito.
According to prosecutors, Davignon, who is accused of war crimes, had participated in the unlawful detention or transfer of Lumumba and deprived him of his right to an impartial trial.
Prosecutors added that Davignon had subjected Lumumba to “humiliating and degrading treatment”.
If the trial goes ahead, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face the courts in 65 years since the prime minister was killed and his body was dissolved in acid.
While 10 people were accused of being complicit in the murder of Lumumba, Davignon is the only suspect alive.
Lumumba’s family members brought the case, which Belgian federal prosecutors have since taken up.
His granddaughter Yema Lumumba told the Reuters news agency after the ruling that it was a “step in the right direction”.
“What we want is to search for truth and establish different responsibilities,” she added.
The family’s lawyer, Christophe Marchand, also told the AFP news agency that “It’s a gigantic victory”.
“No one believed when we first brought the case in 2011 that Belgium would prove capable of seriously investigating this,” he said, adding: “It’s very hard for a country to judge its own colonial crimes.”
Gold-capped tooth
As African countries pushed for independence from their European rulers in the 1960s, Lumumba rose as an anti-colonial hero, though his government lasted only three months.
At just aged 35, Lumumba was executed in the southern region of Katanga, with the support of Belgian-backed mercenaries.
The only known remains of the killed leader, a single gold-capped tooth, were taken from the daughter of a deceased Belgian officer who was involved in the disappearance of his remains.
During a ceremony in 2022, his remains were returned in a coffin to DRC’s authorities.
During the handover, then Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo reiterated the government’s “apologies” for its “moral responsibility” in Lumumba’s disappearance.
World
US embassy in Ukraine warns of ‘potentially significant air attack’ that could happen in next 24 hours
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The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv issued a security alert Saturday warning that a “potentially significant air attack” could hit the city in the next 24 hours.
The U.S. Mission Ukraine said in a statement, “The U.S. embassy in Kyiv has received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next 24 hours.
“The embassy, as always, recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”
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A security guard stands outside the embassy of the United States of America Oct. 1, 2019, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
The embassy urged Americans to “identify shelter locations before any air alert,” keep reserves of food, water and medication nearby, follow the “directions of Ukrainian officials and first responders in the event of an emergency,” to immediately take shelter if an alert is announced and to download an air raid app like Air Raid Siren or Alarm App.
By early Sunday morning, the capital was rocked by a massive missile and drone strike, Reuters reported.
At least three people were injured and some residential buildings were damaged, the mayor said on Telegram.
The message follows a warning from Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy that Russia was preparing to strike Ukraine with a hypersonic Oreshnik missile, citing Ukrainian as well as U.S. and European intelligence.
“We are seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv, involving various types of weaponry,” Zelenskyy wrote in an X post Saturday morning.
“The specified intermediate-range weapons could be used in such a strike. It is important to act responsibly on air-raid alerts, starting this evening. Russian madness truly knows no bounds, so please protect your lives. Use shelters.”
The message follows a warning from Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy that Russia was preparing to strike Ukraine with a hypersonic Oreshnik missile, citing Ukrainian as well as U.S. and European intelligence. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
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He added that the use of such weapons would set a precedent for future aggressors.
“If Russia is allowed to destroy lives on such a scale, then no agreement will restrain other similar hatred-based regimes from aggression and strikes,” he said. “We count on a response from the world and on a response that is not post factum, but preventive. Pressure must be put on Moscow so that it does not expand the war.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was preparing its air defenses as much as possible, and “we will respond fully justly to every Russian strike.”
“We have given permission for a parade,” he concluded his post, referring to the President Donald Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire earlier this month, “but Russia has no permission for madness. This war must be ended – we need peace, not some missiles satisfying the sick ambitions of one individual. I thank everyone helping to protect lives. Once again, please take care of yourselves and use shelters tonight.”
At the start of the three-day ceasefire May 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters he thought the war could come “to an end” soon.
At the start of the President Donald Trump-brokered temporary ceasefire earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters he thinks the war could come “to an end” soon. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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On Friday, however, Putin vowed retaliation for a deadly Ukrainian drone strike in Starobilsk, an occupied town in eastern Luhansk, claiming that the Ukrainians hit a college dormitory in a “terrorist” act.
Ukraine denied the claim, saying it struck a Russian drone command unit in the area.
The attack came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of intelligence that Russia would launch a significant attack using the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile. It was not immediately clear if the missile had been used in the overnight attack.
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