Belgian ex-diplomat dies before standing trial over 1961 murder of Congolese leader

A 93-year-old Belgian former diplomat who became the first person to be charged in the murder of the Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba has died before he could stand trial. The death of Étienne Davignon, an aristocrat who served as a European commissioner during a decades-long career as one of Belgium’s leading diplomats and industrialists, was confirmed by the Jacques Delors Institute thinktank, where he had served on the board. In March, Davignon was ordered to stand trial for war crimes for alleged involvement in the extra-judicial killing of Lumumba 65 years ago, a final attempt to shed light on one of the 20th century’s most consequential political assassinations. Étienne Davignon was ordered to stand trial for war crimes for alleged involvement in the assassination of Lumumba 65 years ago. Photograph: Eric Vidal/Reuters Lumumba, who was elected the first prime minister of the country now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo upon its independence from Belgium in 1960, was ousted from power months later and killed by Belgian-backed secessionist rebels on 16 January 1961. The murder was a dark chapter in Belgium’s colonial history and a watershed for the era’s liberation struggles in African countries. Prosecutors said Davignon, a junior diplomat at the time, had participated in the unlawful detention or transfer of Lumumba and deprived him of his right to an impartial trial. …